Development of a Mobile Application to Assess Nutritional Status and Offer Dietary Guidelines Among the Elderly
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Abstract
Today, most of the elderly are very modern and have more access to smartphone usage. Nevertheless, there is a lack of promoting the use of nutritional mobile application. The purposes of this research were thus to develop a mobile application to assess nutritional status, propose guidelines for dietary intakes among the elderly, and evaluate the application through the process of information technology development. A sample of 176 individuals including the elderly in Chamai district, general public, and IT specialists participated in this study. The data were gathered through in-depth interviews, online questionnaires and documents. Content analysis was conducted for qualitative data, while frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation were used for quantitative data analysis. The results indicated that the mobile application can be used to assess nutritional status of the elderly and guide their dietary intake. It is practical and easy to use. The overall effectiveness was rated at a high level ( = 4.05, S.D.= 0.74). Specifically, which indicates that it is designed according to the standard, easy to use, not complicated, the data entry and processing are well ordered. Besides it is convenient for data assessment and report, results of previous assessments can also be retrieved for data comparisons. In terms of its function and usage, assessment results are displayed clearly and easy to understand. The results of nutritional assessment and suggestions can be put into practice. Moreover, this technological knowledge was disseminated to individuals involved through a workshop as well as an application user guide which achieved a high level of satisfaction (
=4.02, S.D.= 0.74). This study can well serve as a nutrition care tool for the elderly and those involved. In addition, it also promotes the utilization and development of mobile application that meets the nutritional needs of the elderly.
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