Graduation Year

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.S.C.S.

Degree Name

MS in Computer Science (M.S.C.S.)

Degree Granting Department

Computer Science and Engineering

Major Professor

John Templeton, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Julia Woodward, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Seungbae Kim, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Jennifer Bleck, Ph.D., MPH, NBC-HWC.

Committee Member

Rita DeBate, Ph.D., MPH, NBC-HWC.

Keywords

Digital Health, Food Insecurity, Food Prescription, Personalized Medicine, User-Centered Design

Abstract

Food insecurity (FI) remains a persistent public health challenge in the United States, disproportionately affecting underserved populations and contributing to higher rates of chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. Traditional Food-as-Medicine programs have emerged as promising interventions, but often follow a generalized, non-personalized approach that limits long-term effectiveness, especially among diverse, high-risk communities. This thesis presents MyFoodRx, a personalized mobile health (mHealth) application designed to address the intersection of food insecurity and chronic disease through tailored nutritional guidance, real-time pantry integration, and adaptive educational content.

Developed through a User-Centered Design (UCD) process, MyFoodRx leverages a modular client–server architecture, HIPAA-aligned backend infrastructure, and third-party APIs to deliver curated meal recommendations and self-management tools based on individual user profiles. Functional modules include a digital pantry tracker, personalized recipe engine, food intake monitoring, and condition-specific health education. The system is built using Flutter, Python, and MongoDB Atlas, and is engineered for future scalability, clinical integration, and AI-driven enhancements.

This thesis documents the formative research, system design, and early-stage evaluation of MyFoodRx, demonstrating its potential to promote health equity through digitally enabled, patient-centered nutrition support. The findings contribute to ongoing efforts in digital health innovation and inform the development of targeted mHealth interventions for food-insecure populations with chronic health conditions.

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