Exploring diet quality in Cystic Fibrosis (CF): Enables and barriers to eating a healthy diet in CF

This project explores the day-to-day experiences of adults living with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and how they navigate food, eating, and dietary advice. Through in-depth interviews, we aim to understand the challenges, motivations, and supports that shape nutrition in real life, especially as new CF treatments are changing people’s expectations, routines, and wellbeing. The qualitative approach allows participants to describe their experiences in their own words, giving us insights that cannot be captured through food diaries or clinical measures alone. The goal is to use these insights to guide more realistic, person-centred nutrition support for people with CF. 

Although nutrition is key for people with CF, research has rarely asked them directly about their lived experiences with food and dietary guidance. Quantitative measures show what people eat, but not why, or what gets in the way. With CFTR modulators changing health and daily life, there is a growing need to understand how people are adapting, what new challenges are emerging, and what support would be genuinely useful. The qualitative work fills this gap by capturing personal perspectives on appetite changes, body image, routine, symptoms, and confidence with food. These insights help ensure future nutrition advice reflects real needs, not assumptions. 

Cystic Fibrosis Ireland, clinical dietitians, Research Ireland and Health Research Board.

The qualitative study is progressing well, with clear signs of academic, clinical, and public impact. Academically, the manuscript is currently under review at the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The study has already been presented at the North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference (NACFC), where it received strong engagement and positive feedback from researchers and clinicians, an early indicator of relevance and resonance within the international CF community. Metrics such as publication, citations, and post-presentation enquiries will continue to demonstrate academic impact. Clinically and publicly, impact will be assessed through engagement from CF Ireland, clinicians, and advocacy partners who are interested in incorporating the qualitative insights into service development and patient-centred nutrition support. Dissemination through newsletters, websites, and lay summaries will help reach people with CF and families, with media engagement, online interactions, and stakeholder feedback serving as indicators of how well the qualitative findings are informing conversations on lived experience, nutrition, and care in the modulator era.