Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Sep 20, 2021
Date Accepted: Jun 23, 2022
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Developing and Implementing a Machine Intelligence Mental Health System Navigation Chatbot to Support Healthcare Workers in Two Canadian Provinces
ABSTRACT
Background:
One in three Canadians will experience an addiction and/or mental health challenge at some point in their lifetime. Unfortunately, there are multiple barriers in accessing mental health care including system fragmentation, episodic care, long wait times, and insufficient supports for health system navigation. Additionally, stigma may further reduce an individual’s likelihood to seek support. Digital technologies present new and exciting opportunities to bridge significant gaps in mental health care service provision, reduce barriers pertaining to stigma, and improve health outcomes for patients and mental health system integration and efficiency. Chatbots, i.e., software systems that use machine intelligence (artificial intelligence and machine learning) to carry out conversations with people, may be explored to support those in need of information and/or access to services, and present the opportunity to address gaps in traditional, fragmented and/or episodic, mental health system structures, on demand, with personalized attention.
Objective:
This pilot study seeks to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a mental health system navigation machine intelligence chatbot (the Mental Health Virtual Assistant).
Methods:
Participants will be healthcare workers and their families located in the Canadian Provinces of Alberta and Nova Scotia (Total n=1,000; n=500 from Alberta; n=500 from Nova Scotia). The effectiveness of the technology will be assessed in comparison/complementing to/the status quo health navigation service provision (e.g., mental health navigation call centres and/or self-driven use of publicly available online search engines), and will be evaluated through the triangulation of data from several sources. Data will be collected via voluntary follow-up surveys, and client interactions and engagement with the chatbot. Additionally, the collection and analysis of aggregate health system utilization data will be explored, assessing service use prior to, and following the chatbot deployment.
Results:
This project was initiated April 1st, 2021. Ethics approval was granted on August 12th, 2021 by the University of Alberta Health Research Board. Data collection is anticipated to begin November 8th, 2021, and conclude February 7th, 2021. Publication of a final report will be sought following the synthesis of analysis with a target date of March 31st, 2022.
Conclusions:
Our findings can be incorporated into public policy and planning around mental health system navigation by any/all Canadian mental health care providers - from large public health authorities through to small community-based not-for-profits. This may serve to support the development of an additional touchpoint or point of entry for individuals to access to the right services/care, at time of need, wherever they are and on-demand.
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