| dc.description.abstract | The integration of information technology into nutrition care has emerged as a transformative approach to enhancing service quality, efficiency, and personalization, surpassing the limitations of traditional manual methods. Despite global progress in digitizing healthcare, Kenya’s Food Exchange List (KFEL) was unautomated, posing challenges to effective meal planning. This study aimed to automate the KFEL for application in meal planning among nutritionists in Kenya. It led to the development of a meal planning application known as Diet Wizard. Diet Wizard guided the nutritionists step-by-step to input personal data of the patient, calculate nutritional needs, and generate customizable meal plans using a standardized food exchange system. Specific objectives included determining the metric measures of selected foods missing in the KFEL, developing a prototype application, and assessing its feasibility for use in clinical nutrition settings and analyzing the demographic characteristics of the nutritionists in Kenya. A cross-sectional study design was employed, targeting a population of 48 selected Kenyan foods and 297 nutritionists. Purposive sampling was used for the selected foods and random sampling for the nutritionists. Data collection involved laboratory-based food measurements, followed by an online app development and app feasibility survey using a structured online questionnaire. Due to limited digital access, 103 dietitians participated, and data were analyzed using SPSS Version 20 and Excel. The study analyzed 48 commonly consumed food samples to add onto the KFEL by determining their actual nutrient composition using laboratory measurements and standard values from the Kenyan Food Composition Tables. This information was incorporated into the Diet Wizard application data bank. Feasibility results indicated that the application significantly improved both the efficiency and accuracy of meal planning among nutrition professionals, with 73% reporting improved accuracy and 76.47% reporting reduced planning time. Usability was rated positively by 95.1% of respondents, and 87.3% expressed willingness to adopt the tool in professional practice. These findings highlight a strong need for digital innovations in nutrition care. Adopting Diet Wizard will help improve service delivery, save time, and enhance patient outcomes through efficient and modern nutrition care. | en_US |
