Exploring Individuals' Views and Feedback on a Nutritional Screening Mobile App: Qualitative Focus Group Study

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Science
• Health Informatics
• Public Health

Background:

• Malnutrition affects millions globally, with significant underweight and overweight populations.
• The Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) is vital for assessing nutritional status in healthcare.
• Existing MUST tools (paper, web) have limitations like calculation errors and internet dependency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate healthcare professionals' perceptions of a new mobile app for MUST.
• Assessing the app's content, functionality, and usability for malnutrition screening.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study utilizing deductive and inductive framework analysis.
• Eight online focus groups (n=32) with dietetic and nutrition professionals across the UK.
• Exploration of app design, functionality, and usefulness via demonstration and discussion.

Main Results:

• Overall positive feedback on the MUST app's potential for accurate and routine screening.
• The automatic calculation feature was highlighted as beneficial for reducing discrepancies.
• Suggestions for improvement included user incentives, optional questions, and enhanced measurement guidance.

Conclusions:

• The MUST app is perceived as user-friendly and accessible for malnutrition risk screening.
• The app has the potential to enhance screening accuracy and availability, particularly in community settings.