How can we (re-)design our app to maximize usage motivation and provide personalized dietary feedback/coaching?
Researchers of Wageningen University developed a flexible smartphone-based tool “Traqq”, which can be used as a recall and food record. The recall module pushes the respondent to report food intake over a specific time period (e.g., 4-hours, 8-hours, 24-hours) while the record module enables the user to report their intake during the day (Lucassen, et al., 2021). In contrast to traditional dietary assessment methods (Brouwer-Brolsma, et al., 2020), these shorter recall periods allow for more real-time reporting of dietary intake, without the negative effects of a food record (e.g., social desirability, reactivity bias). Additionally, the shorter recall periods seem to provide a more accurate account of dietary intake compared to traditional 24h-recalls due to the lower reliance on memory. All in all, the best of both worlds.
To further increase the functionality of the app, we want the enable to provision of personalized feedback based on reported intake. We are currently working on the integration of this functionality in the backend of the app (DHD-index: Looman, et al., 2017). Reported dietary intake will be calculated and compared to the Dutch dietary guidelines after which personalized recommendations will be provided to the respondent.
In this project, there are two directions possible (or a combination of both):
1) We know that incomplete recordings negatively influence the accuracy of the diet assessment. One of the reasons of incomplete recording is the lack of motivation to use. So, the first project aim is to design to increase the motivation the (prolonged) use of this app using techniques such as gamification, playful probing and social support strategies to prevent incomplete recordings.
2) We invite you to come up with one or more design ideas for the feedback/coaching module of the app. How should we deliver the feedback? What additional behaviour change strategies can be adopted to positively influence the user’s dietary behaviours? This part is still completely open so you are invited to experiment with different behavior change strategies, visualizations and/or technologies.
