Using Voice Assistant Systems to Improve Dietary Recall among Older Adults: Perspectives of Registered Dietitians

Abstract

Dietary assessments are important clinical tools used by Registered Dietitians (RDs). Current methods pose barriers to accurately assess the nutritional intake of older adults due to age-related increases in risk for cognitive decline and more complex health histories. Our qualitative study explored whether implementing Voice assistant systems (VAS) could improve current dietary recall from the perspective of 20 RDs. RDs believed the implementing VAS in dietary assessments of older adults could potentially improve patient accuracy in reporting food intake, recalling portion sizes, and increasing patient-provider efficiency during clinic visits. RDs reported that low technology literacy in older adults could be a barrier to implementation. Our study provides a better understanding of how VAS can better meet the needs of both older adults and RDs in managing and assessing dietary intake.

Keywords:

• Dietary recall
• dietitian
• older adults
• technology
• voice-assistant systems

Acknowledgements

We thank Quirina Merced Vallejos for their help reviewing coded transcripts.

Disclosure statement

There are no conflict of interest pertaining to this manuscript or authors of this manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

The research reported in this publication was supported in part by the National Institute on Aging and Office of Dietary Supplements of the National Institutes of Health [grant number K23AG051681, R01AG067416]; the The North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute (NC TraCS) [grant number UL1TR002489]; the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) of the National Institutes of Health and the University of North Carolina Nutrition Obesity Research Center (NORC) [grant number DK056350]; and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Medical Students Training in Aging Research (MSTAR) program from the National Institute On Aging of the National Institutes of Health [grant number T35AG038047]. Dr. Batsis has equity in SynchroHealth LLC.