Authors (including presenting author) :
Lam LY(1), Ho CHI(1), Yu MWV(1)
Affiliation :
(1) Department of Dietetics, Queen Mary Hospital
Introduction :
The Department of Dietetics of QMH has been leveraging ICT in enhancing the quality of nutrition care. A series of digital health and nutrition education materials have been developed to actively engage patient in outpatient setting via different platforms such as QR code or uniform resource locator to promote self-efficacy and information sharing.
Objectives :
Qualitative analysis was performed to evaluate patient experience in using ICT-assisted nutrition education resource.
Methodology :
170 outpatients and care givers were interviewed whilst waiting for their nutrition consultation at the Department of Dietetics in QMH between August 6th to 31st, 2018. A demonstration to access of electronic nutrition information and healthy recipes was carried out via QR code scanning to each participant at the interview. This survey assessed ICT-assisted health promotion experience according to three elements: (1) convenience and usability, (2) motivation, and (3) information sharing. A scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) was used. Demographic information and technology orientation, including technology use, adoption, and behavior were collected. An open-ended question was also included to allow the participants to express their opinions toward the experience.
Result & Outcome :
Of 170 participants, 58.8% (n=100) were female and majority were 45 to 64 years (51%, n=86) and 25 to 44 years (21%, n=36). 62% (n=106) participants prefer to receive nutrition information in electronic version while 38% (n=64) prefer paper version. The top four cited sources of nutrition information were: online news media, TV programs, magazines, and social network platforms, respectively. Overall, 92% (n=156) participants agreed or strongly agreed ICT-assisted health information are convenient and easy to use. 86% (n=147) participants agreed or strongly agreed that ICT-assisted health information can increase the willingness to access nutrition information. 77% (n=132) participants agreed or strongly agreed that ICT-assisted health information increases the likelihood of sharing of nutrition information to others. In conclusion, ICT-assisted patient education may be a trend for future health promotion, specifically due to the high satisfaction with the convenience to access, storage, and sharing information to others. While there are advantages to innovate the configuration of traditional health and nutrition promotion with technologies to enhance patient empowerment, barriers for effective technology use of disadvantage groups are needed to be explored.