JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Interactive conversational agents, also known as “chatbots”, are computer programs that use natural language processing to engage in conversations with humans to provide or to collect information. Although the literature on the development and use of chatbots for health interventions is growing, there are still important knowledge gaps that remain, such as identifying design aspects relevant to healthcare and functions to offer transparency in decision making automation.

Objective:

To identify and categorize the current interactive conversational agents used in healthcare.

Methods:

A mixed methods systematic scoping review will be conducted according to the Arksey and O'Malley framework and the guidance of Peters et al. for systematic scoping reviews. A specific search strategy will be formulated for five of the most relevant databases to identify studies published in the last 20 years. Two reviewers will independently apply the inclusion criteria using the full texts and extract the data.

Results:

We will use structured narrative summaries of main themes to present a portrait of the current scope of available interactive conversational agents targeting health promotion, prevention, and care. We will also summarize the differences and similarities between the conversational agents.

Conclusions:

This fundamental knowledge will be useful for the development of interactive conversational agents adapted to specific groups in vulnerable situations in healthcare and community settings.