WOMEN'S WEIGHT MANAGEMENT CAI FOR OUTPATIENT SETTINGS

THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP AND EVALUATE A COMPUTER ASSISTED INSTRUCTION (CAI) WOMEN'S WEIGHT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM FOR USE IN OUTPATIENT, WAITING ROOM SETTINGS. THE SOFTWARE WILL FOCUS ON BASIC NUTRITIONAL CONCEPTS RELATED TO WOMEN'S HEALTH INCLUDING WEIGHT CONTROL. FEATURES WILL IDENTIFY PROBLEMATIC FOODS, REPORT SNACK AND MEAL BALANCE, INDICATE ENERGY AND ACTIVITY BALANCE, AND CHART BODY WEIGHT OVER TIME. OVERWEIGHT WOMEN WILL ENTER THEIR OWN DATA IN WAITING ROOMS, AND RECEIVE UNDERSTANDABLE PRINTOUTS, WHICH WILL BE REVIEWED WITH STAFF IN THE EXAMINING ROOM. THIS PROCESS WILL INVOLVE AND EMPOWER THE PATIENT TO ASSIST IN THEIR OWN HEALTH CARE. A FOUR STEP SOFTWARE SYSTEMS ANALYSIS (SSA) PLAN WILL BE USED TO FORMATIVELY EVALUATE THE SOFTWARE WITH 40 WOMEN IN A FAMILY PRACTICE CORPORATION. FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEWS WILL BE CONDUCTED WITH AN ADDITIONAL 20 PATIENTS AND 5 PROFESSIONAL STAFF WHO USED A BETA VERSION OF THE SOFTWARE TO IDENTIFY ANY FINAL PROBLEMS. RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY WILL BE DETERMINED BY COMPARING PATIENT GENERATED PRINTOUTS WITH THE SAME DATA OBTAINED BY AN INTERVIEW-ASSISTED NUTRIENT ANALYSIS. THE COMMERCIAL VALUE OF THIS PROJECT IS BASED ON THE INNOVATIVE DESIGN OF THE PRINTOUT SYSTEM AND THE EXCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT FOR WOMEN IN THIS ENVIRONMENT.