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User-Assigned Ratings
of the Importance of Various Features of Food and Nutrition Management
Software Systems
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The following is a summary of the degree
of importance of various features and attributes of food and nutrition
management software systems, as they were rated by users who responded
to an online survey run through the Nu
Connexions website from October 8, 1999 to February 29, 2000.
No information was gathered from respondents about specific nutrition and
foodservice software systems which they were currently using or had used
in the past. Some of the features and attributes described in the
questionnaire may not currently be present in the software of major vendors.
Survey Response Demographics and
Related Limitations to Interpretation of Results
A total of 68 responses to the online survey
were received between October 8, 1999 and February 29, 2000. This
response rate appears low, but given the specialized nature of the software
being surveyed, and the fact that it was strictly an online survey (no
print-based equivalent), the response rate is not surprising.
Responses to questions in sections three
through six of the survey were not mandatory. As a result, most questions
in these sections were not answered by all 68 survey respondents.
The number of responses for each question is indicated in the response-summarizing
tables on other pages of this survey summary.
The survey was publicized through links
on pages of particular interest to nutrition and foodservice professionals
on the Nu Connexions website.
An initial announcement, with approximately monthly reminders, were made
through the following professional listservs:
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Dietetics Online (dietetics-online@empnet.com)
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Food and Nutrition Professionals (fnspec_mg@ecn.purdue.edu)
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Nutrition Education (Nutr-Ed-l@usask.ca)
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Public Health Nutrition (phnutr-l@u.washington.edu)
The vast majority of responses were received
shortly after the initial and reminder postings made to these listservs.
(For further information about how to subscribe to these and other listservs,
visit the Nu Connexions
Directory listing of listservs
and other sites of interest to professionals.) Due to the fact that
this survey was conducted and publicized solely using the online medium,
results of the user-assigned desirability ratings pertaining to software
integration with the Internet may be skewed.
Contact information of respondents was
gathered for the purposes of a draw for a free copy of Food
Smart Professional nutrient analysis software (donated courtesy of
Sasquatch Software Inc.). This information also served to ensure
that response data was provided only once by any given individual, and
to collect information about country of origin of responses (summarized
below):
Priorities Assigned to Computerizing
Major Functional Areas of Nutrition & Foodservice Management
In the first section of the questionnaire,
respondents were asked to rate the level of priority they would assign
to computerizing four major functional areas of nutrition care and foodservice
management. The responses are summarized in the table below:
| |
Nutrition Care |
Diet Office |
Food Production |
Inventory Control &
Purchasing |
| First Priority |
36/68
(52.9%) |
24/68
(35.3%) |
20/68
(29.4%) |
20/68
(29.4%) |
| Second Priority |
18/68
(26.9%) |
16/68
(23.5%) |
25/68
(36.8%) |
21/68
(30.9%) |
| Third Priority |
7/68
(10.3%) |
18/68
(26.5%) |
15/68
(22.1%) |
11/68
(16.2%) |
| Fourth Priority |
7/68
(10.3%) |
10/68
(14.7%) |
8/68
(11.8%) |
16/68
(23.5%) |
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Nutrition care management clearly received
the highest level of priority for computerization among respondents, and
diet office management was second most likely to receive top priority.
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Food production management and inventory control/purchasing
management functions were equally likely to receive top priority, but the
latter functional area was twice as likely to receive lowest priority for
computerization compared to food production.
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When results of first and second priority
are combined for each of the functional areas, it is interesting to note
that computerization of food production management receives a higher level
of priority than diet office management. In the same manner, inventory
control/purchasing management is marginally more likely to receive either
first or second priority than diet office management. Nutrition care
management computerization still maintains a clear lead for top priority
when results of first and second priority are combined.
To
read more about how respondents rated the importance of various other features
which apply to all or specified functional areas of nutrition and foodservice
management, click on the links below.
Rating
of Features Which Apply to
All Major Functional Areas of
Nutrition and
Foodservice Management
Rating
of Features Which Apply to
Specified Functional Areas of
Nutrition and Foodservice Management
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