Towards nutrition education for adults: a systematic approach to the interface design of an online dietary assessment tool

  • Authors:

  • Yasmine C. Probst;Lori Lockyer;Linda C. Tapsell;David Steel;Owen McKerrow;Marian Bare

  • Affiliations:

  • Smart Foods Centre, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.;Faculty of Education, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.;National Centre of Excellence in Functional Foods, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.;Centre for Statistical and Survey Methodology, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.;Educational Media Laboratory, Faculty of Education, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.;Human Nutrition Unit, School of Molecular and Microbial Sciences, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia

  • Venue:
  • International Journal of Learning Technology
  • Year:
  • 2007

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Abstract

To support nutrition-related behavioural change, a dietitian can offer tailored educational programmes based on patients' specific dietary behaviours. A model has been developed to integrate learning technologies into this process. This tool allows patients to self-report their dietary intake, creating awareness, and to receive individually tailored dietary advice from their General Practitioner (GP) via a dietitian, to assist with change. This article examines how a step-wise approach to the interface design has allowed a multidisciplinary approach to automated dietary assessment to be undertaken. Concentrating on the identification of core foods and on the questionnaire format using an outline of the diet history interview, the design features of the programme used focus groups with end users and in-depth discussion between the multidisciplinary team. The development of an online self-administered dietary assessment programme must ensure outcome goals are met whilst upholding the simplicity of the interface design to allow a larger number of patients access to the programme.