Digital Lab for Education in Dietetics combining Experiential Learning and Community Service (E+DIETing_LAB)

The research project is aimed at improving the dissemination of knowledge in human nutrition, promoting social engagement of students, and filling the gap of specific skills in dietetic education: practical skills, interpersonal/coaching skills, and digital competencies. In this sense, through an effective experiential learning method, the project aims to fill the gap of practical competencies considered a critical issue for all health professionals, and it is about applying information technologies to simulate real settings that are useful in the field of education and to innovate in evaluation systems that allow teachers to use these digital environments.

The project plans to achieve the following results:

1. Development of a virtual patient 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 manner. These bots provide the following cases: Gastroenterology, diabetes mellitus type 1, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, obesity, and renal diseases. Each bot has a questionnaire related to the field of nutrition and a final survey to know the user's experience.
2. Development of a virtual clinic with training focused on the Nutritional Care Process (PAN) and service to the community. Through a video call, interested persons can receive free dietary advice and recommendations on how to improve their diet, under the supervision of a teacher. With this outcome, the project introduces several innovative actions through two key technological elements: service learning and artificial intelligence.
3. Preparation of a report with different tools for other institutions and health services to adopt the self-learning platform for virtual patients and the virtual clinic. This toolkit will include a guide for educators and trainers on the use of the platforms, a curriculum for integrating the tools into dietetic education programs, and recommendations on dietitian professionalism aimed at policy makers outside of education.

Published Articles

• Innovative Application of Chatbots in Clinical Nutrition Education: The E+DIEting_Lab Experience in University Students.
  Nutrients, 18(2), 257 (2026).
  Elío, I., Tutusaus, K., Eguren-García, I., Lasarte-García, Á., Ortega-Mansilla, A., Prola, T. A., & Sumalla-Cano, S.
  https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18020257
• Systematic Review of Machine Learning applied to the Prediction of Obesity and Overweight.
  J Med Syst 47, 8 (2023).
  Ferreras, A., Sumalla-Cano, S., Martínez-Licort, R. et al.
  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-022-01904-1

Chapter

• Technological Approaches to Medical and Pharmaceutical Education
  Ângelo, J.
  https://www.igi-global.com/book/technological-approaches-medical-pharmaceutical-education/361938

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