Abstract
Objective:
To describe existing online 24-hour dietary recall (24hDR) tools in terms of functionalities and ability to tackle challenges encountered during national dietary surveys, such as maximizing response rates and collecting high-quality data from a representative sample of the population, while minimizing the cost and response burden.
Design:
A search (from 2000 to 2019) was conducted in peer-reviewed and grey literature. For each tool, information on functionalities, validation and user usability studies, and potential adaptability for integration into a new context was collected.
Setting:
Not country-specific
Participants:
General population
Results:
Eighteen online 24hDR tools were identified. Most were developed in Europe, for children ≥10 years old and/or for adults. Eight followed the five multiple-pass steps, but used various methodologies and features. Almost all tools (except three) validated their nutrient intake estimates, but with high heterogeneity in methodologies. User usability was not always assessed, and rarely by applying real-time methods. For researchers, eight tools developed a web platform to manage the survey and five appeared to be easily adaptable to a new context.
Conclusions:
Among the eighteen online 24hDR tools identified, the best candidates to be used in national dietary surveys should be those that were validated for their intake estimates, had confirmed user and researcher usability, and seemed sufficiently flexible to be adapted to new contexts. Regardless of the tool, adaptation to another context will still require time and funding, and this is probably the most challenging step.
Assessing Commensality in Research