We studied the availability of remote nutritional education by introducing a Web-based meeting system to the coursework and food education activities at two training colleges for nutritionists in Tokyo and Gifu. In this study, we employed an open-source Web conferencing software called “OpenMeetings,” which is available in the common Web facilities equipped with its Web server. Superior functions of this system include sharing information through uploaded document files and “white board” (on which every participant can write freely during a Web meeting), and the capability to observe the expressions of each participant, including oneself, on the same screen. By using this system, we were able to compare the advantages and disadvantages of the learning experiences of those students who used the Web-based system to those who were taught via a conventional classroom. We also made the college students in Tokyo practice implementing nutrition education using OpenMeetings with the college students in Gifu by pretending to be diabetes patients and their families. Subsequently, other students in Gifu, who could observe through the same screens, evaluated the simulated nutrition lesson by scoring it and statistically analyzing the results.
Remote nutritional education using the Web requires users to become familiar with how to operate a PC;however, it has many merits including the following:(1) it takes no time and there are no costs for a patient to go to the clinic for nutritional advice, (2) it is easy to adjust the time and place guidance is given, (3) it is possible for not only the client, but also their family or career who cooks their meals, to participate in the Web-based meeting from various locations, (4) each person involved in the meeting can maintain eye contact with each other on the same screen, and (5) both clients and nutrition guides may feel less emotional tension due to not being in a confined space together.
Since everybody has a personal computer, or can access one easily, this study showed that the Web-based meeting system is a very promising tool for remote nutritional education, as well as for effective training and communication among nutritionists or for managing nutritionists.