Adapting Intake24 for Aotearoa - New Zealand

Abstract

National nutrition surveys play a pivotal role in shaping public health policies and programmes by providing valuable insights into dietary intake and the nutritional wellbeing of a population. A team from the University of Auckland and Massey University worked alongside the Ministry of Health and the Ministry for Primary Industries to develop the methods and tools for a future New Zealand Nutrition Survey. Throughout these developmental stages, we partnered and engaged with Māori as tangata whenua, and other key ethnic groups in Aotearoa - New Zealand, ensuring that their unique dietary practices and preferences were accurately captured. This presentation centres on the adaptation of Intake24, an innovative web-based 24-hour dietary recall tool, to optimize dietary data collection within the New Zealand context. The adaptation process involved several key steps including rationalisation of a New Zealand-specific food list, incorporating cultural dishes, adding new portion size estimation aids, and further customisation of the user interface(1). We provide new insights into the user experience and the tool’s functionality, sharing findings from field testing and valuable user feedback. This approach ensures collection of dietary data that is truly representative of the New Zealand population and acknowledges the rich diversity and dietary nuances within the country. As such, this adapted New Zealand version of Intake24 could serve as an essential tool for use in a future National Nutrition Survey or other research initiatives to collect accurate, culturally sensitive, and actionable nutrition data providing evidence to inform future public health programmes and policies.