What kind of DSS would you like to make for nutrition?

Decision support system may be beneficial and can become the solution to the nutrition problems in a developing country like India, it can be used to estimate the nutritional requirements, previous records of food intake, evaluation of nutritional intake in comparison to the requirements, can also be used for individualised/ personalised tailored recommendations for various nutritional treatments,  disease recoveries, combating micro nutrient deficiencies, to reduce the proportion of malnourished patients and the disease-related malnutrition which is commonly seen in the low developed areas of the country.

lakhs of children under 5  age die because of malnutrition. The incidence of malnutrition is also  higher in poor households,. so  DSS can be made helpful to detect the nutritional problem of that particular community or organizations by means of displaying the essential data needed ! DSS can assess the nutritional status of marginalized community by stating the root cause of problem.

DSS can be used to monitor and analyze the best option available .  Nutritional status like malnourished or overnourished, mortality due to nutrition, nutrition treatments, nutritional support ,  can all be Overcome if the system is strengthened.

Every day, over 6,000 children under the age of five die in India. Malnutrition, specifically a lack of Vitamin A, iron, iodine, zinc, and folic acid, is responsible for more than half of these deaths [1]. 

A human requires nutrition from birth in order for all of his or her cells to function properly. Pregnant women and their children aged 5 and under are the most vulnerable population subgroups. While most Micronutrient Deficiency (MND) disorders can be reversed by providing missing micronutrients, some deficiency disorders have irreversible, lifelong consequences. The severity, timing, and scope of the deficiency will determine the consequences. As a result, there is a global need for informed, evidence-based approaches to MND prevention. Each stage of human life is affected by a nutritional deficiency in its own way [2]. 

Every physician should be encouraged to obtain the history of nutrient intake of the patients visiting the respective healthcare center. The patient can be questioned about the number of meals and snacks consumed in a 24-hour period, the frequency with which fruits, meats, and fish are consumed, a history of stomach upset or stomach flu, and so on. Documentation of this type of nutritional history can unimaginably lead to behavior change, as people will begin to take advice on suggested nutritional improvements seriously after seeing their progressive changes evident in their blood pressure, weight, and laboratory data, if necessary, that will be shown to them.

One feature I'd like to include is working with environmental and agriculture stakeholders to collect and track the nutrients levels in drinking water and food in each region. For example, dental fluorosis, which occurs when children under the age of eight drink fluoridated water, can be avoided if the levels are monitored and successful collaborations are maintained.

References:

1. Kotecha P. V. (2008). Micronutrient Malnutrition in India: Let Us Say "No" to it Now. Indian journal of community medicine : official publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social Medicine, 33(1), 9–10. //doi.org/10.4103/0970-0218.39235
2. Bailey R, L, West Jr. K, P, Black R, E: The Epidemiology of Global Micronutrient Deficiencies. Ann Nutr Metab 2015;66(suppl 2):22-33. doi: 10.1159/000371618

As Hypertension remains the top global cause of disease burden. Decision support system (DSS) can be used to provide an adequate and cost-effective means to improve the management of hypertension based on an algorithmic approach for

1. Nutritional requirements of hypertensive patients

2. Evaluation of hypertensive patients

3. Risk stratification

4. Drug management

5. Lifestyle interventions based on Indian guidelines for hypertension (2021)

6. Previous records of food intake

It will help people in knowing the risk factors of hypertension, staging of blood pressure, guidelines and about drugs and the previous records of food intake.

DSS should provide a calendar like feature where hypertensive patients can record their daily food intakes and their blood pressure values.

Broadly speaking, decision support systems help in making more informed decisions. Often used by upper and mid-level management, decision support systems are used to make actionable decisions, or produce multiple possible outcomes based on current and historical company data. At the same time, decision support systems can be used to produce reports for customers that are easily digestible that can adjust based on user specifications. 

I really liked the idea of Dr. Joshi's DIETDSS and it is beneficial in several ways. One of the best way according to me would be usage in rural areas to eradicate Protein Energy Malnutrition which is a huge issue in children living in villages where provision of nutritious food is low, causing retarded growth in them. With the help of Decision Support System we can take a step ahead in spreading the dietary management, patterns and principles of PEM so that people get to know them and implement them in their lives which can improve the scenario. Also the DIETDSS is very easy to use even for the rural people hence this will be a great success in the area of nutrition. 

Anemia occurs when there are not enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen to your body’s organs.

As a result, it’s common to feel cold and symptoms of tiredness or weakness.

Anyone can develop anemia, although the following groups have a higher risk

Women Blood loss during monthly periods and childbirth can lead to anemia.

This is especially true if you have heavy periods or a condition like fibroids.
Children, ages 1 to 2: The body needs more iron during growth spurts.
Infants: Infants may get less iron when they are weaned from breast milk or formula to solid food. Iron from solid food is not as easily taken up by the body.

Several signs and symptoms occur in all types of anemia, such as fatigue, shortness of breath and feeling cold. 

The idea of DSS by Team FHTS,is a Powerful research tool that can be used by health researchers to gather all the characteristics of a diet and provide solutions in an online mode.If developed and enhanced effectively the widespread use of this app can help with the quantitative surveys in diet in collecting, analysing and formulate stategies for a more effective client service.

                 This dashboard portal can benefit nutritionists, dieticians,fitness experts,health researchers with easy reliability and usable data towards various prominent health issues of the Indian community like malnutrition,anaemia, underweight,diabetes etc.

Including questionnaires and data reporting can uplift the approach towards this dashboard.

This dashboard in near future can be a boom and help produce data, deliver results and assist in planning at a fairly low cost.

An adequate well-balanced diet is crucial for child survival, health and development. Well-nourished children are more likely to be healthy, productive and ready to learn.

Undernutrition has the opposite effect, it stunts intellect, reduces productivity and perpetuates poverty. It increases a child’s chance of dying and increases their susceptibility to childhood infections, such as pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria.     

Undernutrition is caused by the insufficient intake and/or inadequate absorption of energy, protein or vitamins and minerals (micronutrients) that in turn lead to nutritional deficiencies. 

so, with the Decision Support System(DSS) we can  treat the undernutrition problems and Improved nutritional status, and it is also used solve the Social and behaviour change initiatives, such as community-level counselling, dialogue, media engagement and advocacy, especially in marginalized communities, is integral to promoting usage of locally available, nutrient-dense affordable foods for young children.

Decision Support System (DSS) is a new term to many prople. It really help each and every person who know and participate in this system. It is beneficial in many ways and creates a solution for nutritional problems all over india. It could be a boon in finding and combating different diseases and deficiencies. The most attractive part of Diet DSS is it is applicable in rural areas too. Diabetes, Protein Energy Malnutrition, Pcod and Micro nutrient deficiencies are the most common health issues in India. All these problems can be eradicated by proper use of knowledge and decision making in food choices. Digital Diet DSS could play a vital role in combating nutritional problems. 

Posted by: @ashishjoshi

Decision support system (DSS) combines data from stakeholders, users, patients, doctors, healthcare professionals to provide users a complete view of the particular system.

DSS can be a tool for the researcher, policymakers that describe global, regional, and national food systems. Nutrition DSS brings together extant data from users and other sources to help policymakers understand their dietary patterns, dietary requirement, which also identify the solution and decide which ones need to be addressed. 

It can play a significant role, not only at the user level but also at the policymakers level. Such dashboards can be helpful to track the progress to see if policies or other interventions are working. It can be designed to provide data-driven solutions too. In recent years, researchers from public health nutrition backgrounds have used dashboards to track the ongoing interventions.

To our knowledge, Dr. Joshi’s DIETDSS is the first dashboard that collected data of diabetic patients in Himachal Pradesh and provided daily message alerts to maintain their sugar levels. 

Read this interesting article 

//www.clinicalnutritionjournal.com/article/S0261-5614(20)30115-1/fulltext

Let us know about the ideas of what kind of DSS you would like to make and what feature you would like to provide to users or policymakers?

Also, do you think it can become the solution to the nutrition problem in India? If yes, how?

Posted by: @ashishjoshi

Decision support system (DSS) combines data from stakeholders, users, patients, doctors, healthcare professionals to provide users a complete view of the particular system.

DSS can be a tool for the researcher, policymakers that describe global, regional, and national food systems. Nutrition DSS brings together extant data from users and other sources to help policymakers understand their dietary patterns, dietary requirement, which also identify the solution and decide which ones need to be addressed. 

It can play a significant role, not only at the user level but also at the policymakers level. Such dashboards can be helpful to track the progress to see if policies or other interventions are working. It can be designed to provide data-driven solutions too. In recent years, researchers from public health nutrition backgrounds have used dashboards to track the ongoing interventions.

To our knowledge, Dr. Joshi’s DIETDSS is the first dashboard that collected data of diabetic patients in Himachal Pradesh and provided daily message alerts to maintain their sugar levels. 

Read this interesting article 

//www.clinicalnutritionjournal.com/article/S0261-5614(20)30115-1/fulltext

Let us know about the ideas of what kind of DSS you would like to make and what feature you would like to provide to users or policymakers?

Also, do you think it can become the solution to the nutrition problem in India? If yes, how?

The idea made by Dr.joshi's DIET DSS and it is beneficial in several ways both rural and urban areas as many people in the India are facing many health issues like diabetes protein energy malnutrition anemia Hypertension as India is a developing country DIET DSS is very to easy to use by the people and it makes easy to plan a diet and to count the nutrients it helps to all the dietitians nutritionst and to the students it will be successful in upcoming days and it will be used by all 🙂

Nutrition plays a vital role in health and recovery process . Deficiencies in macronutrients and micronutrients can impact the development and progression of various disorders. However,  malnutrition screening tools and their utility in the clinical setting remain largely understudied. 

MAJOR NUTRITIONAL PROBLEMS INCLUDE: 

● Maternal nutritional anaemia

● Protein energy malnutrition 

● Vitamin - A deficiency 

● lactation failure 

● Addiction to milk feeding 

SO THE IDEA OF DSS HAVE BENEFITS SUCH AS : 

● Improves efficiency and speed of decision making activities. 

● Increases the control , competitiveness and capability of futuristic decision - making of the organization. 

● It helps both rural and urban areas in their health problems. 

● The dietary guidelines may help many people to deal with their nutritional deficiencies.