The nutritional content required to design an educational application for infertile women

Abstract

Abstract Background Infertility has been considered as a critical health problem for couples and society. Given the worldwide exponential rise of infertility, mobile phone-based applications are drastic ways to deliver nutrition educational content to women with infertility. The present study aimed to prepare the required educational content for designing a mobile phone-based nutrition educational application for women with infertility. Methods Educational contents were initially determined based on the literature review and library studies. As a result, a researcher-made questionnaire was designed containing 28 items in six dimensions. To ensure about the questionnaire’s validity, a panel of experts (15 nutritionists and 5 infertility specialists) was asked to review the items, make revisions (if necessary), and confirm the final contents. The questionnaire reliability was also corroborated using the KR-20 coefficient (0.89). Results While the amount of consumed calories per meal and between meals were not significantly effective on fertility, factors such as main definitions, disease and treatment instructions, personal activities and habits, and menstruation were deemed necessary by the respondents. Participants also suggested adding sections entailing introductions to different types of diets, users' suggestions and opinions, and of the address and contact information of senior nutrition centers to the questionnaire. Conclusions Followed by obtaining the required valid and reliable contents, a mobile phone- based nutrition education application can be designed to improve the patients' knowledge and facilitate their treatment process.

Keywords

• Infertility
• Nutrition Education
• Mobile phone Health (mHealth)
• Needs assessment