Feasibility of using mobile phone AI-assisted dietary assessment and nudging to improve diets in female youth aged 18-24 years in urban Ghana

ISRCTN ISRCTN88044185
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN88044185
Submission date
02/02/2023
Registration date
08/02/2023
Last edited
08/02/2023
Recruitment status
No longer recruiting
Overall study status
Completed
Condition category
Other
Prospectively registered
Protocol
Statistical analysis plan
Results
Individual participant data
Record updated in last year

Plain English summary of protocol

Background and study aims
Unhealthy diets are a critical global concern while dietary measurement methods are time-consuming and expensive. There is limited evidence that phone-based interventions can improve nutrition data collection as well as dietary quality, especially for youth and adolescents in low and middle income countries. We developed an artificial-intelligence-based phone application called Food Recognition Assistance and Nudging Insights (FRANI) to tackle these problems. The objectives of this study are to measure the acceptability, adherence, and likeability of FRANI, as well as its effects on the food choices of female youth in Accra, Ghana.

Who can participate?
Female youth aged 18-24 years

What does the study involve?
In each setting, we randomly allocate participants into two groups: The intervention group with the full version of FRANI including the gamified nudges to encourage healthier food choices. The control group will receive FRANI without the gamified nudges. Both groups will have their food choices tracked for 8 weeks.

What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Evidence generated from this study will assess the potential for new technology to improve scalable data collection in nutrition, and healthier food choices for a population at risk of malnutrition.
No risks are involved.

Where is the study run from?
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) (USA)

When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
September 2022 to April 2023

Who is funding the study?
Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers (CGIAR) (France)

Who is the main contact?
Dr Aulo Gelli, a.gelli@cgiar.org

Contact information

Dr Aulo Gelli
Principal Investigator

IFPRI, 1201 Eye Street NW
Washington, DC
20005-3915
United States of America

ORCiD logoORCID ID 0000-0003-4977-2549
Phone +1 202 8625611
Email a.gelli@cgiar.org

Study information

Study designRandomized controlled pilot study
Primary study designInterventional
Secondary study designRandomised controlled trial
Study setting(s)Community, Home
Study typeOther
Participant information sheet Not available in web format, please use the contact details to request a patient information sheet.
Scientific titleAssessing the feasibility of using innovative AI mobile technology that provides real-time diagnostics and tailored "nudging" on dietary intake as a strategy to improve diets of female students aged 18-24 years at the University of Ghana
Study acronymFRANI
Study objectivesThe FRANI mobile app is designed to improve diets by increasing the consumption of healthy foods and beverages, whilst crowding out the consumption of unhealthy foods.
Ethics approval(s)Approved 20/11/2022, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ethics board (1201 Eye Street NW, Washington DC, USA; +1 2028125611; IFPRI-IRB@cgiar.org), ref: #00007490
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studiedImproving the quality of diets in women 18-24 years
InterventionThe intervention group with the full version of FRANI including the gamified nudges to encourage healthier food choices. The control group will receive FRANI without the gamified nudges. Participants in both groups will have their food choices tracked for 8 weeks.
The intervention group will be able to take pictures of their meals, set dietary goals, and will receive personalized medals and badges according to the dietary quality of the foods they ate. They will be able to see the scores and statistics about the quality of their diet. They will receive a daily report summarizing everything they ate and notifications reminding them to take pictures. In contrast, the participants in the control group will have access to a mobile phone with a limited version of FRANI, without possibility of setting dietary goals, nor a home screen, daily reports, scores and statistics. They also will not receive medals and badges. Both groups will see the same notifications, except daily report reminders for the control group.
A computer-generated sequence will be used to randomly allocate participants to the intervention and control groups at a 1:1 ratio for each country separately.
Intervention typeBehavioural
Primary outcome measureThe feasibility of the FRANI will be assessed by measuring outcomes related to adherence and acceptability:
1. Adherence is defined as the number of days the participants completed dietary recalls on the FRANI divided by the total number of days of the pilot test. Participants will be considered adherent if this is equal to 70% or higher, starting to count from the first and ending on the last day of the pilot.
2. Acceptability summarizes likeability, satisfaction, intent to use, and intent to continue using the FRANI, while usability summarizes what affects the use of the FRANI.
Acceptability and usability are measured according to answers from structured questionnaires. If participants grade the acceptability or usability of the FRANI as 30 or more points in their respective structured questionnaires, the app will be considered accepted or usable.
Secondary outcome measuresMeasured using data captured by FRANI over the entire duration of the pilot:
1. Percentage of total meals recorded in FRANI
2. Quality of dietary choices measured using the Individual Dietary Diversity Score
3. Quality of dietary choices measured using the EAT-Lancet Diet Score
4. Quality of dietary choices measured using the Global Diet Quality Score (GDQS)
Overall study start date01/09/2022
Completion date30/04/2023

Eligibility

Participant type(s)Healthy volunteer
Age groupAdult
Lower age limit18 Years
Upper age limit24 Years
SexFemale
Target number of participants60
Key inclusion criteriaFemale youth aged 18-24 years living in the targeted communities.
Key exclusion criteriaParticipant not providing consent.
Date of first enrolment03/02/2023
Date of final enrolment15/02/2023

Locations

Countries of recruitment

  • Ghana

Study participating centre

Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana
S Legon Dr
Accra
LG 581
Ghana

Sponsor information

Funders

Funder type

Research organisation

Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers
Private sector organisation / Other non-profit organizations
Alternative name(s)
CGIAR
Location
France

Results and Publications

Intention to publish date01/09/2023
Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to shareYes
IPD sharing plan summaryStored in publicly available repository
Publication and dissemination planPlanned publication in high-impact peer reviewed journals
IPD sharing planThe data will be shared on the IFPRI dataverse 1 year after the completion of the study
https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataverse/IFPRI

Editorial Notes

08/02/2023: Trial's existence confirmed by International Food Policy Research Institute.