Development and Evaluation of an Integrated Nutritional Health Care Information System

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Clinical Nutrition
• Information Systems

Background:

• Malnutrition is a significant global health issue in hospitalized patients.
• Effective nutrition support systems are crucial for managing patient health outcomes.
• Existing systems often lack integration, hindering optimal clinical nutrition management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To construct and evaluate a novel cross-professional, cross-sectoral nutrition health care information system (CPCS-NHIS).
• To optimize clinical nutrition management through integrated information flows, knowledge sharing, and defined clinical roles.
• To assess the success and user acceptance of the CPCS-NHIS using a validated electronic questionnaire.

Main Methods:

• Developed the CPCS-NHIS by modifying existing medical systems to unify nutrition-related information and workflows.
• Utilized a 20-item, six-dimension electronic questionnaire based on the DeLone and McLean IS Success model to evaluate system success.
• Assessed user satisfaction via a 5-point Likert scale and validated results using reliability and validity analyses.

Main Results:

• The CPCS-NHIS offers comprehensive functions: bedside screening, assessment, intervention, diagnosis, monitoring, enteral nutrition prescription, and QR-code payment.
• Over 80% of users expressed willingness to continue using and recommending the system.
• The system evaluation showed excellent psychometric properties, including high reliability (Cronbach's α >0.80), convergent validity (AVE >0.50), and strong model fit indices.

Conclusions:

• The CPCS-NHIS provides a practical, integrated framework for nutrition health care information systems.
• The system is grounded in the nutrition care process and model, ensuring clinical relevance.
• The CPCS-NHIS exhibits robust psychometric evidence and high user acceptance, indicating its potential for widespread adoption.