Bringing e-Health Nutrition Education to populations For Improved depression Treatment
Project Overview
Sophus and Food & Mood Centre Collaborate on Nutrition and Depression Research
The Food & Mood Centre at Deakin University and Sophus Nutrition have partnered on the BeNEFIT trial, a research study investigating the potential for online nutrition education to improve treatment of depression.
The Food & Mood Centre is a multidisciplinary research institute focused on examining the intricate relationships between dietary intake and mental health outcomes. For the BeNEFIT trial, the Centre required a technology platform capable of delivering their online nutrition curriculum to study participants.
Rather than directly utilizing the existing Sophus app, the two organizations cooperated to develop a custom software solution incorporating Sophus' digital health technologies and technical capabilities. This approach enabled the research team to create an application experience precisely tailored to the specific requirements of the study protocol and data collection needs.
Partnering with an established provider of digital health tools confers several key advantages for academic research groups pursuing clinical trials or interventional studies. Companies like Sophus offer expertise in areas like user engagement analysis, consumer preference research, and efficacy assessments that can prove invaluable when evaluating the real-world usage and impact of digital health interventions.
The BeNEFIT trial leverages this analytical power by collecting robust data on participant interaction with the nutrition modules, compliance with the study protocols, and feedback through integrated surveys and assessments. These insights will allow the researchers to optimize content delivery and evaluate the intervention's effectiveness with a high degree of rigor.
For participants, the trial experience is designed to be intuitive and easily navigable. They download the custom app, watch prescribed video lessons on a weekly basis, complete questionnaires related to their nutrition habits and mental health, and receive structured prompts to guide them through each phase of the protocol.
Project Goals
The goal of the BeNEFIT collaboration is to generate high-quality evidence regarding the potential for nutrition-based interventions to serve as an adjunctive treatment for depression that can complement existing therapeutic approaches. Leveraging Sophus' digital health expertise positions the study to yield substantive and insightful conclusions that can direct future research and clinical practices.
Combining the Food & Mood Centre's domain expertise in nutrition and mental health with Sophus' proficiency in developing and evaluating digital health solutions represents a pragmatic research partnership that aims to elevate scientific understanding and identify new avenues for improving public health outcomes.
For more information, visit the Food & Mood Centre website.
