The partners of the Erasmus Plus project “Digital Lab for Education in Dietetics combining Experiential Learning and Community Service” (E+DIETing_LAB), led by the European University of the Atlantic (UNEATLANTICO), met on April 22 and 23 at the Universidade do Porto (Portugal) to evaluate the pilot activities of the digital tools created in the project: a virtual patient and a virtual clinic.
Together with UNEATLANTICO, the following European institutions are also participating in the E+DIETing_LAB project: the University of Valladolid (UVA) in Spain, St. Pölten University in Austria, the Universidade do Porto (U.Porto) in Portugal, AP Hogeschool Antwerpen in Belgium and Jan Kochanowski University (UJK) in Poland.
UNEATLANTICO presented the results of the pilot test of the virtual patient, a platform that integrates five different bots available in five languages. The bot teaches the nutrition and dietetics student to perform a clinical screening process in an online/interactive way. These bots provide the following cases: Gastroenterology, Diabetes mellitus type 1, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, obesity and kidney disease. Each bot has a questionnaire related to the field of nutrition, and a final survey to know the user experience.
A virtual clinic is also in the testing phase, with training focused on the Nutrition Care Process (NAP) and community service. By video call, interested people can receive free dietary advice and recommendations on how to improve their diet, under the supervision of a teacher. In this outcome, the project also introduces several innovations through two key technological elements: service learning and Artificial Intelligence.
Each participating institution has a separate clinic to interact with patients. In the case of UNEATLANTICO, those interested in participating and receiving advice in Spanish should access the following contact form.
The partners emphasized to continue testing both digital tools among target audiences. During the meeting, the work plan for the third deliverable of the project was also presented. The Multiplier Toolkit will consist of a set of documents dedicated to encourage and facilitate the use of the digital tools generated by the project.
The E+DIETing_LAB project is funded by the Spanish Service for the Internationalization of Education (SEPIE, Spanish Agency of the European Program Erasmus +). It aims to improve practical training in dietetic education and promote a community/service learning approach related to nutrition and healthy habits as a social responsibility of the university.
People interested in more information about this project can consult its website or its social networks.
*Disclaimer: This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication (communication) reflects the views only of the author. The Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.