Clinical Investigation of MYIBDDiet App Developed for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Patients to Self-manage Their Diet

A Pilot Randomized Trial Investigating the MyIBDDiet App to Improve Self-management of an Anti-inflammatory Diet for Individuals With Inflammatory Bowel Disease

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if an app designed for diet education can help patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) learn about healthy eating.

The main question[s] it aims to answer are:

• Is the app easy to use?
• Is the app useful? Researchers will compare the diet app to see if it is better at teaching patients about a healthy diet than the standard information they may receive from their doctor.

Participants will be asked to use the app for one month and answer surveys to see how easy the app is to use and if it leads to healthier eating.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: MyIBDDiet app

Detailed Description

(Background): Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), encompassing Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis affects various segments of the gastrointestinal tract. Although this is a chronic illness, patients may experience periods of active inflammation and inactive disease or remission. At diagnosis, patients commonly enquire about what they should not be eating or avoiding. In the past, advice was limited to vague recommendations to "avoid the foods that bother participants" due to lack of research data to support a specific diet as beneficial.

The etiopathogenesis of IBD is thought to involves genetic predisposition, an altered composition and function of the intestinal microbiome, and a dysregulated immune. Diet has been shown to play a role in modulating the intestinal microbiome. There is now growing evidence to support the role of diet in in the management of IBD and recent guidelines have made more concrete recommendations for Mediterranean diet and avoidance of ultra-processed foods.

Although gastroenterologists may be aware and able to advice patients on the type of diet, few would have the expertise or time to provide specific details of the foods that are allowed or excluded in these diets. Not all patients will have access to a dietician and those who have access to a consultation will not have regular reinforcement of the concepts discussed.

The investigators therefore propose a digital solution to bridge the gap in care and allow for daily reinforcement of nutrition knowledge to help patients adhere to a healthy eating pattern. The MyIBDDiet app is designed to allow for tracking of food intake including preparation method, added fats and food processing with immediate messaging feedback on whether the food item should be consumed more often or less often. Symptom tracking will allow patients to correlate how they felt to their food intake. Additionally, further education and resources will be provided in the form of short videos or visual tools. These resources will be developed in response to user requests.

In this randomized pilot trial study, the investigators aim to conduct a clinical investigation to evaluate the effects of the the intervention of using the educational diet tracking app (MyIBDDiet).

(Purpose): The investigators aim to evaluate the MyIBDDiet app, designed to improve self-management of a healthy eating pattern.

(Hypothesis): It is hypothesized that diet plays a role in modulating the intestinal microbiome. A Western diet high in saturated fat, sugar and processed foods contributes to intestinal microbiome dysbiosis and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of IBD. Conversely, an anti-inflammatory pattern of eating (e.g., the Mediterranean diet) with concomitant reduction in processed foods has recently been cited by the American Gastroenterology Association as an adjunct to inactive states of IBD.

Majority (85.4%) of individuals living with IBD believe diet is implicated in disease relapse. A paucity of established dietary guidance has led patients with IBD to self-impose dietary restrictions, thus further increasing risk of malnutrition. Furthermore, while larger centers are more likely to be associated with dedicated nutrition professionals, most with IBD may be faced with navigating nutrition misinformation associated with random websites and the IBD community, itself.

(Justification): Mobile health applications (apps) providing self-managed, evidenced-based diet and lifestyle programs are emerging for the IBD population. While many IBD-related apps exist, some of the apps focus solely on tracking without providing education while others provide recipes or therapeutic diets that require coaching. Few focus on diet education or self-management. As such, the investigators aim to develop a nutrition app that delivers up-to-date, evidenced-based diet information in a format that follows principles of adult learning. Newly developed electronic resources and videos will provide education on an anti-inflammatory pattern of eating, fiber and the intestinal microbiome, food additives and emulsifiers and practical substitutions in a restaurant setting will be made available in the app. Our goal is to expand beyond surface learning (i.e. Videos/handouts) to try to achieve a deeper level of understanding by having patients categorize their food intake while tracking with immediate feedback on the rationale behind the recommendation to choose the item more or less often.

By integrating videos, tutorials, and patient entries, MyIBDDiet app combines clinical advice with patient independence, and empowerment.

(Objectives): The objectives include evaluating the usability and acceptability of the app in improving diet quality and diet knowledge.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 40
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Karen Wong, MD, FRCPC; Phone Number: Ext 5 780-492-8691; Email: kwong3@ualberta.ca
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Ravneet Kaur, M.Sc.; Phone Number: 7802481034; Email: rkaur8@ualberta.ca

Study Locations

• Canada
  • Alberta
    • Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2X8
      • Recruiting
      • Zeidler Ledcor Centre, University of Alberta
      • Contact: Karen Wong, MD, FRCPC; Phone Number: 5 780-492-8691; Email: kwong3@ualberta.ca

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. ≥18 years
2. Able to provide informed consent
3. Established diagnosis of IBD determined by treating physician
4. Not in acute flare
5. Not pregnant
6. Willing and able to comply with all required study procedures

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Short bowel syndrome
2. High ostomy output
3. Intestinal strictures
4. Pregnancy or breastfeeding
5. Malnutrition (evaluated by Canadian Nutrition Screening Tool (CNST) )
6. Conditions requiring dietary restrictions (e.g. Celiac disease, kidney disease, diabetes, eosinophilic esophagitis)
7. Have other conditions that may require low fibre diet such as irritable bowel syndrome, gastroparesis.
8. Currently on a therapeutic diet
9. Already on a diet for IBD or using diet tool for IBD (e.g. Mediterranean or anti-inflammatory diet)
10. Active malignancy

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Control Crossover Arm; This group will not use the app for the first 30 days, then begin using it for the following 30 days.	Other: MyIBDDiet app; Participants in the Control crossover arm will be administered the intervention (using the app) for 30 days, and participants in the MYIBDDiet arm will use the app for 60 days.
Experimental: MyIBDDiet users; This group will use the MyIBDDiet app for 60 days and compared with the control group.	Other: MyIBDDiet app; Participants in the Control crossover arm will be administered the intervention (using the app) for 30 days, and participants in the MYIBDDiet arm will use the app for 60 days.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Usability of MyIBDDiet App	Determined by MAUQ scores (mobile health app usability questionnaire) and semi-structured interview responses	Through study completion - 60 days
Acceptability	Determined by TFA questionnaire (Theoretical Framework of Acceptability questionnaire) and semi-structured interview responses	Through study completion - 60 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Quality of live	Quality of life will be assessed by European Quality of Life Five Dimension (EQ-5D) questionnaire	Through study completion - 60 days
Diet Quality	Change in diet quality before and after using MyIBDDiet App assessed using the Mini-EAT tool and Healthy Eating Index (HEI)	Through study completion - 60 days

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in adherence to / knowledge of Mediterranean diet	Determined with Mediterranean Diet Serving Score (MDSS)	Through study completion - 60 days
Change in intake of highly processed foods	Change in intake of highly processed foods as determined by Automated Self-Administered 24-Hour Dietary Recall (ASA24®) (Dietary Assessment) Tool and NOVA classification. (NOVA classification groups foods according to the nature, extent and purpose of the industrial processing they undergo).	Through study completion - 60 days

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Alberta

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Gubatan J, Kulkarni CV, Talamantes SM, Temby M, Fardeen T, Sinha SR. Dietary Exposures and Interventions in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Current Evidence and Emerging Concepts. Nutrients. 2023 Jan 22;15(3):579. doi: 10.3390/nu15030579.
• Gold SL, Chiew BA, Rajagopalan V, Lavallee CM. Identification and Evaluation of Mobile Applications for Self-Management of Diet and Lifestyle for Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. J Can Assoc Gastroenterol. 2023 Sep 16;6(5):186-195. doi: 10.1093/jcag/gwad029. eCollection 2023 Oct.
• Godala M, Gaszynska E, Durko L, Malecka-Wojciesko E. Dietary Behaviors and Beliefs in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. J Clin Med. 2023 May 14;12(10):3455. doi: 10.3390/jcm12103455.
• Sekhon M, Cartwright M, Francis JJ. Development of a theory-informed questionnaire to assess the acceptability of healthcare interventions. BMC Health Serv Res. 2022 Mar 1;22(1):279. doi: 10.1186/s12913-022-07577-3.
• Balestrieri P, Ribolsi M, Guarino MPL, Emerenziani S, Altomare A, Cicala M. Nutritional Aspects in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. Nutrients. 2020 Jan 31;12(2):372. doi: 10.3390/nu12020372.

Helpful Links

• Related Info
• Related Info

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 15, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2029

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 5, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 8, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): November 12, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 7, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 6, 2026
• Last Verified: May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD); Crohn's disease; Ulcerative colitis; Malnutrition; Self-management; Mediterranean diet; Mobile health applications
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Nutrition Disorders; Intestinal Diseases; Digestive System Diseases; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Colonic Diseases; Gastroenteritis; Colitis; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Malnutrition; Colitis, Ulcerative; Crohn Disease; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
• Other Study ID Numbers: Pro00141681

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No