Digital photo receivers are a viable technology for nutrition education of low-income persons

Design of an interactive digital nutritional education package for elderly people

Designing a system for the elderly is crucial, as aging is associated with physiological changes that may impair perception, cognition and other social aspects; therefore, many aspects need consideration, especially in interface design. This study was conducted to develop a digital nutritional education package (WE Sihat) by following appropriate guidelines for elderly people to achieve better design interface and interaction. Touch-screen technology was used as a platform for user interaction. The nutritional content was based on previous nutrition studies and a lifestyle education package on healthy aging, which contains four modules. The questionnaires were distributed to 31 Malay subjects aged 60-76 years old, containing an evaluation about the overall content, graphics, design layout, colour, font size, audio/video, user-perceived satisfaction and acceptance levels. The findings showed positive feedback and acceptance. Most subjects agreed that the digital nutritional education package can increase their nutritional knowledge for a healthy lifestyle and is easy to use. The touch-screen technology was also well accepted by elderly people and can be used as a kiosk for disseminating nutrition education for healthy aging.

A digital program informs low-income caregivers of preschool-age children about family meals

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the digital program, Mealtime is Family Time, as a means of educating caregivers of preschoolers on the importance of family meals within the division of feeding responsibility framework.

METHODS

Descriptive design using 2 approaches: focus group program review and discussion or self-report survey after independent program review in low-income venues. All participants completed an inventory of child feeding practices.

RESULTS

About 75% of feedback survey respondents (n = 147) found the program understandable, easy to read, and helpful and expressed interest in child cues of hunger and satiety. Focus group findings corroborated program utility and were congruent with need for division of feeding responsibility implementation. For example, 39% of respondents reported that children must always or often taste mealtime food.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Education about family meals and child feeding is critical; Mealtime is Family Time was well received by this low-income audience. Further development to measure practice of the division of feeding responsibility is warranted.

Validity and Reliability of Photographic Diet Diaries for Assessing Dietary Intake Among Young Children

Obtaining valid, reliable dietary intake data for young children is challenging. The objective of this study was to assess the validity, reliability, and acceptability of the addition of photography to traditional written diet diaries for recording young children's dietary intake. Twenty-two parents of preschoolers enrolled to complete a 2-day photographic diet diary for their child. Diaries were coded by a trained nursing student for food weight, calories, and macronutrients. A random sample of diaries was evaluated by an independent nutritionist to determine interrater reliability. Convergent validity was tested by comparing visual estimates and actual values of photos of 24 researcher-created meals/snacks. Acceptability was assessed through participants' feedback, completion rates for the project, project costs, and quality of the data obtained. Reliability was assessed by computing intraclass correlations between caloric and macronutrient data from 2 independent diary evaluators. Convergent validity was assessed by calculating intraclass correlations between visually estimated photo diary evaluations and actual premeasured researcher-created meals/snacks. Medium to large correlations between the 2 independent evaluators (.51-.63) were found for caloric and macronutrient values, with the exception of protein (r = –.21). Strong correlations (food served, r = .69-.96; food consumed, r = .66-.83) were obtained between visual estimates and actual values of calories and macronutrients for the premeasured foods. Preliminary results indicate the addition of photographs to a traditional diet diary may enhance the validity and reliability of prospective dietary intake recording. Parents and children indicated the activity was fun, and quality data resulted, indicating that this method is acceptable.