Computerised dietary assessment interviews: health professionals and patients opinions about web communications

Aim: To describe the acceptance of DietAdvice, an automated dietary assessment website, by its stakeholders. Methods: One month evaluation study using audio-recorded telephone interviews with ten patients who had used DietAdvice, 10 dietitians, 10 General Practitioners who recruited many patients and 10 General Practitioners who recruited few or no patients to the website to obtain their beliefs and opinions about DietAdvice, health, nutrition and technology. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed for categorical themes using NVivo software. Results: Patients were concerned about Internet difficulties and had a preference for face-to-face interviews and dietitians felt that DietAdvice could save time prior to dietary education and counselling. Recruiting General Practitioners believed that patient computer literacy was a limitation, though increased availability of dietary services created by DietAdvice. Non-recruiting General Practitioners felt that they had a lack of time available to recruit patients, patient computer literacy was limited and there was a need for face-to-face contact. Conclusion: The perspectives of patients and healthcare providers show variation based on their experience with DietAdvice, their focus on nutrition and their role in the healthcare system. Automated technologies are likely to play a significant part in the future of dietetics.