#Healthy: smart digital food safety and nutrition communication strategies-a critical commentary

Updated review on contaminant communication experiences in the circumpolar Arctic

Arctic populations are amongst the highest exposed populations to long-range transported contaminants globally, with the main exposure pathway being through the diet. Dietary advice is an important immediate means to address potential exposure and help minimize adverse health effects. The objective of this work is to enable easier access to dietary advice and communication guidance on contaminants with a focus on the Arctic. This manuscript is part of a special issue summarizing the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme's Assessment 2021: Human Health in the Arctic. The information was derived with internet searches, and by contacting relevant experts directly. Results include risk communication efforts in European Arctic countries, effectiveness evaluation studies for several Arctic countries, experience of social media use, and the advantages and challenges of using social media in risk communication. We found that current risk communication activities in most Arctic countries emphasize the importance of a nutritious diet. Contaminant-related restrictions are mostly based on mercury; a limited amount of dietary advice is based on other contaminants. While more information on effectiveness evaluation was available, specific information, particularly from Arctic countries other than Canada, is still very limited.

Assessment of awareness on consumption of irradiated foods among Saudi population using a validated psychometric scale

Despite the application of food irradiation for enhancing food safety, many consumers lack an understanding of its fundamental principles, often misinterpreting the information and exhibiting negative perceptions toward foods treated with ionizing radiation. This study focuses on evaluating public awareness regarding the consumption of irradiated food within Saudi Arabia, utilizing the Awareness Scale on Consumption of Irradiated Foods (ASCIF), a developed and validated tool. The ASCIF encompasses four constructs: concepts, awareness, labeling, and safety concerning irradiated foods. The average scores for each subscale and the aggregate ASCIF score were determined, with the analysis incorporating both descriptive and inferential statistical methods. The study's sample of 712 individuals predominantly consisted of females (53.37%), individuals aged 18-30 years (55.62%), those holding a bachelor's degree or higher (70.79%), participants earning less than SAR 5000 (42.70%), students (37.08%), and singles (66.85%). The overall mean scores for each category were as follows: safety (2.87 ± 0.92), concept (3.18 ± 0.79), label (3.44 ± 1.15), and awareness (2.68 ± 1.03). The overall mean score for the ASCIF was 3.02 ± 0.81, a diverse spectrum of awareness, with the majority of participants (62.92%) exhibiting intermediate awareness, while 17.98% displayed poor awareness, and 19.10% demonstrated high awareness. Logistic regression analysis identified age and educational attainment as significant predictors of awareness levels (p < 0.001). These results highlight a moderate understanding of irradiated foods among the Saudi population, with significant variations based on demographic factors. The study's conclusion emphasizes the necessity for tailored educational initiatives that cater to specific demographic groups to enhance understanding and awareness of irradiated food technologies in Saudi Arabia. This study thereby provides valuable insights for policymakers and health educators in designing effective communication strategies about irradiated foods.

Theoretical and practical aspects of risk communication in food safety: A review study

Currently, food safety hazards have introduced as one of the most important threats to public health worldwide. Considering numerous crises in the field of food safety at global, regional, and national levels, and their impact on the physical and mental health of consumers, it is very vital to evaluate risk communication strategies in each country. Food safety risk communication (FSRC) aims to provide the means for individuals to protect their health from food safety risks and make informed decisions about food risks. The purpose of this study is to present FSRC as one of the key parts of risk analysis, its importance considering the prevalence of food contamination and recent crises related to food. Additionally, the stages of implementation of FSRC are mentioned. In FSRC, it is essential to comply with the principles and prerequisites. There are various strategies for FSRC nowadays. Different platforms for FSRC are rapidly evolving. Choosing and evaluating the appropriate strategy according to the target group, consensus of stakeholders, cooperation and coordination of risk assessors and risk managers have a significant impact in order to improve and implement FSRC.

The positive impact of gamification in imparting nutritional knowledge and combating childhood obesity: A systematic review on the recent solutions

Objective

This paper reviews the recent gamified interventions that focus on the dietary factor to explore the effectiveness of using gaming elements in combating the prevalence of childhood obesity.

Methods

Two electronic databases were searched (PubMed and ProQuest); to identify the relevant papers published between 2018 and 2021. The keywords that use to search the entire selected databases were gamification and obesity. There were no restrictions regarding the language. Two independent reviewers screened the titles, abstracts, and keywords for relevance.

Results

407 papers were identified initially, while only 18 articles met the inclusion criteria. Most of the included articles indicated the positive impact of gamification on changing children eating behaviors. This systematic review summarizes the theories followed in developing such interventions and suggests some other theories to use and follow. Moreover, we synthesized the main findings into six recommendations that would assist in combating the global concern regarding childhood obesity if IS/IT researchers and other implement them during the development of any IT intervention.

Conclusions

Using gamification and gaming elements in imparting nutritional knowledge to children and improving their eating habits and behaviors is considered effective generally. It provides them with the needed knowledge and promotes the acquisition of better habits within enjoyable environment.

Does the medium matter? Comparing the effectiveness of videos, podcasts and online articles in nutrition communication

Videos and podcasts have become popular in nutrition communication. However, it is unclear whether they are more effective than online texts in conveying knowledge and promoting behavioural intentions. Based on the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning, it was hypothesised that videos are more effective than podcasts or texts in communicating nutrition-related information. In addition, differences in behaviour change intentions were explored. The pre-registered online experiment used a 3 (medium: video, podcast and text) × 3 (topic: diet and climate change, sugar content, and nudging) between-subjects design with 320 participants who were randomly assigned to the conditions. After receiving the respective content, the participants' intention to change their behaviour accordingly and their knowledge about all topics were assessed. A mixed Analysis of Variance revealed a significant interaction of topic and knowledge, indicating that knowledge was higher for the topic that participants were assigned to, compared to the two topics they received no information about. There were no differences in knowledge or intention for the three media. Videos, podcasts and texts are equally suitable for conveying nutrition knowledge and may also be equally beneficial for promoting intention. Communicators may thus base their choice of medium on considerations like available resources and preferences of the target group.

Analyzing opioid-use disorder websites in the United States: An optimized website usability study

Background

As the United States continues to tackle the opioid epidemic, it is imperative for digital healthcare organizations to provide Internet users with accurate and accessible online resources so that they can make informed decisions with regards to their health.

Objective

The primary objectives were to adapt and modify a previously established usability methodology from literature, apply this modified methodology in order to perform usability analysis of opioid-use-disorder (OUD)-related websites, and make important recommendations that OUD-related digital health organizations may utilize to improve their online presence.

Methods

A list of 208 websites (later refined) was generated for usability testing using a modified Google Search methodology. Four keywords were chosen and used in the search: “DEA-X Waiver Training”, “opioid-use-disorder (OUD) Initiatives”, “Buprenorphine Assisted Treatment”, and “Opioid-Use Disorder Websites”. Usability analysis was performed concurrently with optimization of the methodology. OUD websites were analyzed and scored on several usability categories established by previous literature.

Results

“DEA-X Waiver Training” yielded websites that scored the highest average in “Accessibility” (0.84), while “Opioid-Use Disorder Websites” yielded websites that scored the highest average in “Content Quality” (0.67). “Buprenorphine Assisted Treatment” yielded websites that scored the highest average across “Marketing” (0.52), “Technology” (0.89), “General Usability” (0.69), and “Overall Usability” (0.68). “Technology” and “Marketing” were the highest and lowest scoring usability categories, respectively. T-test analysis revealed that each usability, except “Marketing” had a pair of one or more keywords that were significantly different with a p-value that was equal to or less than 0.05.

Conclusions

Based on the study findings, we recommend that digital organizations in the OUD space should improve their “General Usability” score by making their websites easier to find online. Doing so, may allow users, especially individuals in the OUD space, to discover accurate information that they are seeking. Based on the study findings, we also made important recommendations that OUD-related digital organizations may utilize in order to improve website usability as well as overall reach.