# Clinical Decision Support for Collaborative Diet Goal Setting in Primary Care

> **NIH AHRQ R21** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · 2020 · $143,490

## Abstract

In this project we will optimize and pilot test a novel clinical decision support for collaborative diet goal setting
in primary care encounters at clinics serving un- and under-insured patients. Because of the strong link
between diet, obesity, and chronic disease, dietary behavior change interventions are a vital component of
chronic disease prevention and management. Although patients whose providers talk with them about diet and
weight have more success reaching diet and weight goals, these conversations are rare. This missed
opportunity is attributed to PCPs’ lack of training and time, as well as mixed attitudes, competence, and
confidence about diet counseling. At the same time, even as dietary approaches for chronic disease
increasingly leverage mobile applications and patient-generated data for sophisticated personalization, these
interventions rely heavily on patients to collect and interpret personal data and solely address self-
management for implementation of dietary behavior change goals. This makes these interventions less
accessible and user-friendly for the populations who are most affected by chronic disease. In the proposed
research we will refine Diet Goal Clinical Decision Support a health information technology (HIT) tool that
provides PCPs with data-driven guidance for personalized, evidence-based, collaborative diet goal setting so
that patients can leave their primary care encounter with the behavioral intention and goal self-efficacy
necessary to initiate dietary self-management. We aim to make this collaborative goal setting feasible in
primary care encounters through user-centered design to optimize both the technology and its insertion into the
clinical workflow. We will also pilot test Diet Goal CDS with 20 primary care providers in federally qualified
health center (FQHC) clinics to plan for a large-scale confirmatory trial. Our long-term goal is to embed Diet
Goal CDS into the clinical workflow at FQHCs that serve patients from communities experiencing health
disparities and simplify the collection, synthesis, and interpretation of patient-reported dietary data as easy-to-
communicate diet goal options to support collaborative goal setting in primary care encounters.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10040678
- **Project number:** 1R21HS027660-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
- **Principal Investigator:** Marissa Burgermaster
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** AHRQ
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $143,490
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-07-01 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10040678

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10040678, Clinical Decision Support for Collaborative Diet Goal Setting in Primary Care (1R21HS027660-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10040678. Licensed CC0.

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