Telemedicine can address access barriers in childhood obesity management by supporting continuity of care and caregiver engagement. This randomized controlled trial compared a telemedicine-based program with guideline-based usual care among 70 children with obesity (aged 5–15 years) and their caregivers, randomized to telemedicine (n = 35) or usual care (n = 35) for 6 months. The telemedicine program included online consultations, digital caregiver education, remote monitoring, and secure messaging via the SUTH application integrated with the hospital information system. The control group received standard outpatient care with routine counseling and printed materials; baseline characteristics were similar between groups. Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics were comparable between groups. After 6 months, both groups showed modest reductions in BMI; however, ANCOVA-adjusted analyses indicated no significant between-group difference in post-intervention BMI. Weight-for-height decreased in both groups, with a slightly greater percentage reduction in the telemedicine group. Caregiver satisfaction and knowledge were significantly higher in the telemedicine group at follow-up (all p < 0.01; knowledge p < 0.001). These findings suggest that telemedicine-based care may contribute to modest improvements in anthropometric outcomes while substantially enhancing caregiver knowledge and healthcare service satisfaction, supporting its role as a scalable adjunct in pediatric obesity management.

Obesity is an important public health concern among children and adolescents. Effective weight management generally requires dietary modification, nutrition education, physical activity, and continued behavioral support. This study developed and evaluated Korat crispy chicken sticks (K) as a dietary component of a multicomponent weight management program for adolescents with obesity, with commercial chicken sticks (C) as the comparator. A mixture design was used to optimize the product formulation, and a reduced-sugar formulation was selected. The selected product had a hardness of 1548.52 ± 321.25 g, crispness of 54.00 ± 13.23 fracture peaks, water activity of 0.407 ± 0.001, and protein content of 56.90 ± 0.75% on a dry weight basis. Sensory evaluation showed significant differences between the tested products regarding color, aroma, texture, and overall liking (all p < 0.05), but no significant difference in flavor. A preliminary randomized controlled trial was conducted among 38 adolescents with obesity. Participants were randomly allocated to the K group (n = 20) or C group (n = 18) for at least two months. Both groups received the same nutrition education, dietary energy restriction, physical activity recommendations, and telemedicine follow-up. No formal a priori sample size calculation was performed; therefore, the clinical findings were considered exploratory. Both groups showed small reductions in body weight and BMI. BMI decreased by 0.90% in the K group and 1.05% in the C group; neither within-group change was statistically significant. LDL cholesterol decreased from 104.35 ± 17.06 to 101.78 ± 20.70 mg/dL in the K group, but the within-group change was not statistically significant (p = 0.894). In contrast, LDL cholesterol increased from 112.71 ± 24.40 to 123.81 ± 28.34 mg/dL in the C group (p = 0.046). The unadjusted comparison of post-intervention LDL values differed between the groups (p = 0.009), but this finding does not demonstrate a statistically significant LDL reduction within the K group. MDA levels decreased in both groups, but the changes were not statistically significant. These preliminary findings indicate that Korat crispy chicken sticks may be feasible as a dietary component of a multicomponent weight management program. However, the study did not establish an independent effect of the Korat product on BMI, LDL cholesterol, or oxidative stress. Larger adequately powered randomized controlled trials using prespecified outcomes and baseline-adjusted between-group analyses are required.

Background: Caregivers of children often encounter barriers when accessing pediatric healthcare services. These challenges highlight the need for digital innovations to improve accessibility and efficiency in pediatric outpatient care. Objectives: This study aimed to design, implement, and pilot evaluate the Smart Well Child Center application in conjunction with enhancements to the Pediatric Outpatient Department. Methods: This study employs a mixed-methods research approach. The application was developed following the system development life cycle (SDLC) process, and its performance was subsequently evaluated. Additionally, its effectiveness in real-world settings was assessed through a satisfaction survey completed by 85 child caregivers. The results were summarized using the mean and standard deviation, and satisfaction levels were compared using paired t-test and repeated measures ANOVA. Results: The findings reveal that caregivers face significant challenges, including financial burdens related to travel, prolonged wait times, and difficulties accessing healthcare services. In response, the application was designed to incorporate key functionalities. Within the pre-consultation self-assessment module, caregivers can complete evaluations and receive recommendations directly through the application. Furthermore, the service procedure flowchart was restructured to seamlessly integrate these digital innovations, thereby enhancing the overall healthcare experience. The evaluation results indicate that the application achieved high performance ratings across all assessed dimensions (4.06 ± 0.77). Additionally, caregivers reported a substantial increase in satisfaction levels both immediately after implementation (4.58 ± 0.57) and one month afterward (4.59 ± 0.33). Conclusions: Given these findings, it is recommended that the hospital fully adopt the Smart Well Child Center application to improve healthcare accessibility and reduce patient wait times. Future research should assess the long-term impact of the intervention on both caregiver outcomes and healthcare professional workflow, satisfaction, and system usability, to inform broader implementation strategies.

Telemedicine shows promise in improving healthcare efficiency, reducing travel burdens, and expanding access to care. The purpose of this study was to (1) assess the problems and needs related to current pediatric services, (2) evaluate stakeholder satisfaction with existing pediatric services, and (3) examine the opinions of child caregivers regarding telemedicine services. Data were collected from 160 pediatric service users and 24 healthcare providers at Suranaree University of Technology Hospital (SUTH) through a questionnaire comprising four sections: (1) Personal Information, (2) Problems and Needs, (3) Satisfaction with Healthcare Services, and (4) Opinions on Telemedicine Services. The data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. The results indicated that child caregivers reported moderate needs for service improvements, particularly in the areas of online consultations, flexible appointment scheduling, and home medication delivery. Healthcare providers also reported moderate needs across all service dimensions. Child caregivers expressed high satisfaction with ease of access and the quality of care, whereas healthcare providers rated all areas at a moderate level of satisfaction. Caregivers' expectations of telemedicine services focused primarily on its potential to improve service accessibility (54.35%) and reduce waiting times (30.43%), with 15.22% expressing other expectations. The strong demand for telemedicine services among both caregivers and healthcare providers highlights a shared interest in addressing service inefficiencies and improving patient access. To further enhance healthcare accessibility and efficiency, SUTH should prioritize ongoing innovation and refinement of its service delivery systems.