Mobile APP Utilization for Enhanced Post-Operative Nutritional Recovery

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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This study is to assess the usability and acceptability of a digital food consumption diary as part of the perioperative management of gastrointestinal oncology patients and to evaluate the impact of a digital food diary on adherence to dietician-recommended plan and on quality recovery, using a commercially available smart phone application.

Official Title
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Mobile APP Utilization for Enhanced Post-Operative Nutritional Recovery

Conditions
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GI Cancer, Nutritional Deficiency

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: My Plate Calorie Tracker


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Diagnosis of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers confirmed by tissue diagnosis and/or clinical presentation as judged by the treating physician Candidate for curative-intent surgery Participants will be eligible for participation regardless of degree of malnutrition (as determined at pre-operative dietary consultation) Own a smartphone with iOS or Android operating systems with WiFi or 3G/4G connection Willingness to download the Livestrong.com MyPlate Calorie Tracker onto a personal smart phone with assumption and responsibility for individual data usage, and creation of login for website data extraction Provision of signed and dated informed consent form Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and availability for the duration of the study. Sufficient English language proficiency to execute study tasks Exclusion Criteria: Participants with tube feeds and/or need for parenteral/enteral nutrition Participants not willing to download or utilize the commercially available weight monitoring application

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Study Group<br>Participants will be identified for inclusion by leaders of the GI Clinic after GI surgery has been scheduled. Upon consenting, participants will be instructed how to download and use the mobile phone application My Plate Calorie Counter. | Other: My Plate Calorie Tracker<br>* My Plate Calorie Tracker is a user-friendly weight management, calorie record application, available for smart phone devices. Users have the option to input items manually (i.e., calories, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins), select from a list of popular food items, or scan barcodes on the food packaging. In addition to food entries, users can also enter daily water intake and physical activities. Once an account is created, data entered into the mobile application can be sync'd to the My Plate Calorie Tracker website.<br>* Other names: mobile application;|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Usability of Smart Phone Application | Usability of smart phone application will be captured by (1) number of days that entries have been made by the study participants and recorded as a percentage of the total number of days after discharge from the hospital (obtained from mobile application (2) number of meals recorded in the application per day (obtained from mobile application) and (3) Exit Questionnaire (6 questions of 12). The Exit Questionnaire includes a mixture of 5-point Likert-scale, yes or no, and open-ended items to assess usability. Questions on the 5 point scale use 1 as an indication of difficulty in using application and 5 would be ease of use. | Up to 3 months | 
| Acceptability of Smart Phone Application | Patient's acceptability of the mobile application to assist with postoperative nutrition goals will be captured by the Exit Questionnaire (6 questions of 12). The Exit Questionnaire includes a mixture of 5-point Likert-scale, yes or no, and open-ended items to assess acceptability. Questions on the 5 point scale use 1 as an indication of acceptability issues of the application and 5 would be acceptability. | Up to 3 months | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Adherence to Recommended Nutritional Plan | Adherence to the participant's recommended nutritional plan will be calculated by participant's energy (caloric) intake over time, as recorded in the digital food diary, and compared to estimates of the optimum energy needs established by the dietician. Adherence will be reported as a percentage of estimated energy requirements. | Up to 3 months | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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food diary, malnutrition