Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Jun 1, 2023
Date Accepted: Feb 13, 2024
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited.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.
Utilizing a User-Friendly Chatbot for Promoting the Psychological Well-being of Older Adult During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Pilot Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in social restrictions that have affected older adults particularly hard, as they are more vulnerable and experience increased loneliness. Loneliness has various adverse effects and increases the risk of mental health problems and mortality. Chatbots can potentially reduce loneliness and provide companionship during a pandemic. However, existing chatbots do not necessarily cater to the specific needs of older adult populations.
Objective:
To develop a user-friendly chatbot tailored to the specific needs of older adults with anxiety or depressive disorders during the pandemic and examine the usage of mental health chatbots from the perspective of geriatric psychiatric outpatient users.
Methods:
We enrolled active mobile phone users aged > 55 years from a psychiatric outpatient department who had been diagnosed with depressive or anxiety disorders by certified psychiatrists according to the DSM-5 criteria. The participants were required to have Internet access and literacy skills. Participants were given access to the chatbot for a minimum of four weeks; self-assessed scales for loneliness, depression, and anxiety were administered before and after using the chatbot.
Results:
A total of 35 participants (mean age 65.21, SD 7.51 years) were enrolled in the trial, comprising 74.3% females (N = 26) and 25.7% males (N = 9). The participants showed high engagement during the intervention, with over 82% engaging with the chatbot on a daily basis. Loneliness in older adults over 65 years of age improved significantly.
Conclusions:
The chatbot interface was found to be user-friendly. It demonstrated promising results among older adults aged 65 years and above who were receiving care at psychiatric outpatient clinics and experiencing relatively stable symptoms of depression and anxiety. The chatbot not only provided caring companionship but also showed the potential to alleviate loneliness during the challenging circumstances of a pandemic.
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