Caregivers participating in a child feeding research study needed clear, practical guidance for completing a four-week meal and snack diary using a smartphone. The challenge was not simply collecting information. Participants needed to understand the study process, set up the required project and profile information correctly, know when and how to record meals and snacks, handle food photographs and synchronisation, and complete the study consistently. Because the actual research data collection was handled through EpiCollect5, the project also needed to avoid recreating the research form or storing participant data unnecessarily. The focus was therefore on making the participant experience easier to understand and follow.

I developed the AutiNutrition Diary Study participant guide as a mobile-first web application that provides step-by-step guidance throughout the study. The experience breaks the process into manageable stages, beginning with setup and onboarding and continuing through the four-week diary period. Instead of overwhelming participants with a long instruction document, the guide presents one clear action at a time and allows participants to track their progress. The guide explains how to set up the EpiCollect5 project and participant profile, begin recording meals and snacks, capture and manage food photographs, save and upload diary entries, confirm synchronisation, continue through the four-week study, and complete the study correctly. The guide itself does not collect research responses or participant information. It acts as an instructional layer around the existing research workflow.

• Guided onboarding

  A structured introduction helps caregivers understand what the study involves and what they need to do before starting.

• Step-by-step instructions

  Instructions are presented one step at a time, reducing the amount of information participants need to process at once.

• Mobile-first interface

  The guide is designed primarily for smartphone use, reflecting how caregivers interact with the study during everyday meal and snack logging.

• Progress tracking

  Participants can see where they are in the guide and resume their progress rather than having to restart from the beginning.

• Four-week study guidance

  The experience supports the recurring workflow of recording meals and snacks throughout the study period.

• Visual instructions

  Screenshots and visual placeholders are used alongside written instructions to make actions easier to understand.

• Sync and completion guidance

  The guide explains how to save and upload information, recognise successful synchronisation, and complete the study correctly.

• Responsive and accessible design

  The interface adapts to different screen sizes and uses clear navigation, readable layouts and focused interactions.

• Making research instructions usable on mobile

  Research instructions become difficult to follow as long documents, especially on a phone during a real-world task. Designed the experience around short, sequential steps with clear actions and supporting visuals.

• Supporting a recurring four-week workflow

  Caregivers repeat the same basic process over an extended period. Separated initial setup from the recurring meal and snack logging workflow so participants can return to the relevant instructions.

• Avoiding unnecessary handling of participant data

  Kept the guide separate from the data-collection layer. EpiCollect5 remains responsible for research data collection; the web application stores only guide progress locally.

• Translating research requirements into practical UX

  Balanced research protocol requirements with an experience caregivers could realistically use. Converted the study workflow into a clear participant journey prioritising task sequence, visual guidance, progress, and simple instructions.

Produced a working participant-facing web guide for the AutiNutrition Diary Study. Caregivers get a structured digital reference for completing the study, from initial setup through four weeks of meal and snack recording to final completion. The project established a reusable approach for turning a research protocol into a focused digital participant experience without duplicating the underlying research data-collection system.

1. 1.Good research software starts with the participant workflow. Understanding exactly what participants need to do, when, and where they are likely to become confused is critical, technical implementation is only part of the problem.
2. 2.Keep responsibilities between systems clear. Separating the instructional experience from the research data-collection system reduced unnecessary complexity and limited participant information handled by the guide.
3. 3.Mobile UX matters in real-world research. A caregiver may use the guide while managing meals, children and other responsibilities, instructions need to be concise, visual and easy to resume.
4. 4.Research and software development require iteration. Caregiver engagement, app evaluation, qualitative analysis and study preparation showed the importance of connecting technical decisions back to research objectives and participant needs.

Live project

auti-nutrition-diary-study.vercel.app/

Autism Research Africa

www.autismresearchafrica.org/researchers