Abstract
BackgroundDietary assessment can be challenging for many reasons, including the wide variety of foods, eating patterns and nutrients to be considered. In team-based primary care practice, various disciplines may be involved in assessing diet. Electronic-based dietary assessment (e-DA) instruments available now through mobile apps or websites can potentially facilitate dietary assessment. Providers views of facilitators and barriers related to e-DA instruments and their recommendations for improvement can inform the further development of these tools. The objective of this study was to explore provider perspectives on e-DA tools in mobile apps and websites.MethodsThe exploratory sequential mixed methods design included interdisciplinary focus groups followed by a web-based survey sent to Family Health Teams throughout Ontario, Canada. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were completed. Focus group transcripts contributed to web-survey content, while interpretive themes added depth and context.Results11 focus groups with 50 providers revealed varying perspectives on the use of e-DA for: 1) improving patients’ eating habits; 2) improving the quality of dietary assessment; and, 3) integrating e-DA into the care process. In the web-survey 191 respondents from nine disciplines in 73 FHTs completed the survey. Dietitians reported greater use of e-DA than other providers (63% vs.19%; p = .000) respectively. There was strong interest among disciplines in the use of e-DA tools for the management of obesity, diabetes and heart disease, especially for patient self-monitoring. Barriers identified were: patients’ lack of comfort with using technology, misinterpretation of e-DA results by patients, time and education for providers to interpret results, and time for providers to offer counselling.Conclusionse-DA tools in mobile apps and websites may improve dietary counselling over time. Addressing the identified facilitators and barriers can potentially promote the uptake of e-DA into clinical practice.
Highlights
Dietary assessment can be challenging for many reasons, including the wide variety of foods, eating patterns and nutrients to be considered
Each focus group was conducted at one Family Health Team (FHT) and included three to eight participants from different disciplines
While many developers have designed a wide range of nutrient analysis websites and apps for use by the public and researchers have been focused on clinical trials evaluating these resources, little is known about the potential for uptake of Electronic-based dietary assessment (e-DA) in the primary care (PC) system and by healthcare teams
Summary
Dietary assessment can be challenging for many reasons, including the wide variety of foods, eating patterns and nutrients to be considered. Six types of technology-assisted instruments for dietary assessment have been developed: interactive computer-based technologies, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), web-based technologies, mobile devices, specialized cameras and tape recorders, and scan and sensor technologies [1,2] Many of these instruments have largely evolved from traditional paper-based methods that had people record the types and quantities of food eaten Pregnancy, infancy and the elderly are life stages when more focus on dietary intake may be warranted Such counselling often occurs in primary care (PC), which refers to the first-contact of care with a health provider. Primary care deals with the majority of health problems in the population, and is the foundation of any healthcare system [12]
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