Unique features of a web-based nutrition website for childhood cancer populations: Descriptive study

Authors: WARTENBERG, LISA - Md Anderson Cancer Center; RABER, MARGARET - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC); CHANDRA, JOYA - Md Anderson Cancer Center

Submitted to: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/3/2021
Publication Date: 9/13/2021
Citation: Wartenberg, L., Raber, M., Chandra, J. 2021. Unique features of a web-based nutrition website for childhood cancer populations: Descriptive study. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 23(9). Article e24515. https://doi.org/10.2196/24515.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/24515

Interpretive Summary: Children with cancer experience many eating-related challenges that impact their weight and nutrition status during treatment and into survivorship. Unfortunately, many patients do not have access to dietitians, nutrition resources, or culinary medicine programs specialized for cancer populations. Web-based resources may help patients and their families access healthy eating information during treatment and into survivorship; however, the scope and content of existing online nutrition materials for childhood cancer populations has not been well explored. This article describes the features and content of an online cookbook site developed specifically for children with cancer and their families (@TheTable) and compares it to three other cancer-focused online nutrition resources. Specifically, we examined each site's recipe collection, search functions, family and/or cancer focus, nutrition information, video content, and other features. We found @TheTable to be a unique resource in its focus on practical nutrition during childhood cancer treatment and survivorship. "Cook for Your Life" and the "Culinary Health Education for Families Recipe for Life" sites had comparable features, but less specialized content. These findings highlight the potential for hospital-backed online nutrition resources for expanding access to specialized dietary information to children and their families. Knowledge gained from this study has broader applicability to the pediatric community in promoting a healthy diet.

Technical Abstract: Children with cancer experience a myriad of nutritional challenges that impact their nutrition status during treatment and into survivorship. Growing evidence suggests that weight at diagnosis impacts cancer outcomes, but provider guidance on nutrition and diet during treatment varies. Nutrition literacy and culinary resources may help mitigate some common nutritional problems; however, many patients may face barriers to accessing in-person classes. Along with dietitian-led clinical interventions, web-based resources such as the newly updated electronic cookbook (e-cookbook) created by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, @TheTable, may facilitate access to nutrition and culinary education during treatment and into survivorship. We sought to define and describe the features and content of the @TheTable e-cookbook and compare it with analogous resources for a lay audience of patients with childhood cancer and childhood cancer survivors as well as their families. We evaluated freely available web-based resources via a popular online search engine (ie, Google). These searches yielded three web-based resources analogous to @TheTable: the American Institute for Cancer Research's Healthy Recipes, The Children's Hospital of San Antonio's Culinary Health Education for Families Recipe for Life, and Ann Ogden Gaffney and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center's Cook for Your Life. These sites were analyzed for the following: number of recipes, search functionality, child or family focus, cancer focus, specific dietary guidance, videos or other media, and miscellaneous unique features. Cook for Your Life and Culinary Health Education for Families Recipe for Life were the most comparable to @TheTable with respect to cancer focus and family focus, respectively. Healthy Recipes is the least user-friendly, with few search options and no didactic videos. The @TheTable e-cookbook is unique in its offering of child- and family-focused content centered on the cancer and survivorship experience.