Mothers' Perceptions About Cooking at Home: A Qualitative Systematic Review Protocol

Background: Cooking at home has been associated with better diet quality and, consequently, promoted by nutrition guidelines as necessary to avoid or reduce ultra-processed food consumption. Mothers are the main agents of culinary socialization, and the main cooks in the context of the home environment. Therefore, to effectively put dietary guidelines into practice it is desirable that public policies be informed by mothers' perceptions about home cooking. The aim of this systematic review is to gather evidence on mothers' perceptions about cooking-related matters at home. Methods: Qualitative studies or qualitative data from mixed methods studies which investigated mothers' perceptions about cooking at home will be included in this review. Databases to be searched for published studies include SCOPUS, Web of Science, PubMed, PsycINFO and SciELO. The search for unpublished studies (grey literature) will include Google Scholar, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, as well as Brazilian Theses and Dissertations catalog, with no date or language restrictions. Titles and abstracts will be screened. The full texts of selected studies will be assessed in detail, and findings and illustrations will be extracted and aggregated. Any disagreements between the two independent reviewers that arise at each stage will be resolved through discussion, or by a third reviewer. Systematic review registration: Submitted to PROSPERO for systematic review registration: CRD42023456505.