Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Human Factors
Date Submitted: Jan 27, 2022
Date Accepted: May 14, 2022
Date Submitted to PubMed: May 16, 2022
Study on the use of healthcare chatbots among young people (17-35) in China during the Omicron Wave of COVID-19: An evaluation of the user experience of and satisfaction with the technology
ABSTRACT
Background:
Long before the outbreak of COVID-19, chatbots had been playing an increasingly crucial role and gaining growing popularity in healthcare. In the current omicron waves of this pandemic when the most resilient healthcare systems at the time are increasingly being overburdened, these conversational agents (CA) are being resorted to as preferred alternatives for healthcare information. For many people, especially the adolescent and middle-aged, mobile phones are the most favored source of information. As a result of this, it is more important than ever to investigate the user experience of and satisfaction with chatbots on mobile phones.
Objective:
In this study, we aim to gain an understanding of the user experience of and satisfaction with the popular healthcare chatbots that are available for use by young people aged between 17 and 35 in southeast China in self-diagnosis and acquiring information about COVID-19 and virus variants that are currently spreading.
Methods:
First, in order to assess user experience and satisfaction, we identified the assessment model based on relevant literature and the Theory of Consumption Values. Second, the chatbots were pre-screened and selected for investigation. Subsequently, 413 informants were recruited from Nantong University, China. This was followed by a questionnaire survey soliciting the participants’ experience of and satisfaction with the selected healthcare chatbots via an Internet questionnaire survey platform (https://www.wjx.cn/). Finally, quantitative and qualitative analyses were made to find the informants’ perception.
Results:
The data collected were highly reliable (cronbach α=0.986) and valid (communalities=0.632~0.823, KMO=0.980, percentage of cumulative variance (rotated)=75.257%, P<.001). The findings of this study suggest a considerable positive impact of the functional, epistemic, emotional, social, and conditional values on the participants’ overall user experience and satisfaction and a positive correlation between these values and user experience and satisfaction (Pearson Correlation P<.001). The functional values (mean=1.762) and epistemic values (mean=1.834) of the selected chatbots were relatively more important contributors to the students’ positive experience and overall satisfaction than the emotional values (mean=1.993), the conditional values (mean=1.995), and the social values (mean=1.998). All the participants (n=413, 100%) basically had a positive experience and were thus basically satisfied with the selected healthcare chatbots. The five grade categories of participants showed different degrees of user experience and satisfaction: seniors (mean=1.853) were the most receptive to healthcare chatbots for COVID-19 self-diagnoses and information, and second-year graduate candidates (mean=2.069) were the least receptive; freshmen (mean=1.883) and juniors (mean=1.925) felt slightly more positive than sophomores (mean=1.989) and first-year graduate candidates (mean=1.992) when engaged in conversations with the chatbots. Besides, female informants (mean=1.931) showed a relatively more receptive attitude towards the selected chatbots than male respondents (mean=1.999).
Conclusions:
This study investigates the use of healthcare chatbots among young people (aged 17-35) in China, focusing on their user experience and satisfaction examined through an assessment framework. The findings show that the five domains in the new assessment model all have a positive impact on the participants’ user experience and satisfaction. In this paper, we examined the usability of healthcare chatbots as well as actual chatbots used for other purposes, enriching the literature on the subject. This study also provides practical implication for designers and developers as well as for governments of all countries, especially in the critical period of the omicron waves of COVID-19 and other future public health crises.
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