Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Mar 13, 2023
Date Accepted: Nov 29, 2023
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited.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.
Embodied Conversational Agents for Chronic Diseases: A Scoping Review
ABSTRACT
Background:
Embodied conversational agents (ECAs) are computer-generated characters, which interact with users face to face through verbal and nonverbal behavior to establish a harmonious partnership. Therefore, ECAs are expected to achieve long-term use of the tool in chronic diseases.
Objective:
This scoping review aimed to review the current practice of reporting the design and use of ECAs in the field of chronic diseases.
Methods:
Arksey and O’Malley framework guided the conduct of this review. Five English databases(PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, and Web of Science) and three Chinese databases(CNKI, WAN-FANG, and SinoMed)were searched with the search terms ECA and associated synonyms in October 2022. Two independent reviewers selected studies and extracted the data.
Results:
Literature search found 9815 articles, 35 of which met the inclusion criteria. Among these studies, 15 studies originated from the United States, and the largest number of articles were published between 2020 and 2022 (n=20). The reported ECAs covered a wide range of chronic diseases, focusing on cancers, type 2 diabetes, substance use disorders, and psychological disorders, mainly for self-management (n=14) and promoting screening (n=7). Since most of the included studies were still in the development and piloting stages, the design features of ECAs were not comprehensive and evaluation outcomes were inconsistent. We generally concluded that the gender of ECAs was mainly female, and communication modalities were text, voice, and nonverbal, and most studies reported acceptability.
Conclusions:
Owing to their ability to build and maintain an empathic relationship, ECAs are increasingly being considered for chronic disease management. However, the literature on ECAs for chronic conditions is scarce, and the lack of standardized and objective assessment tools may hinder the development of this field. Therefore, we suggest that researchers standardize the measurement of ECAs and compare the impact of design features on different target groups.
Citation
