Due to necessary scheduled maintenance, the JMIR Publications website will be unavailable from Wednesday, July 01, 2020 at 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM EST. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause you.
Who will be affected?
Readers: No access to all 28 journals. We recommend accessing our articles via PubMed Central
Authors: No access to the submission form or your user account.
Reviewers: No access to your user account. Please download manuscripts you are reviewing for offline reading before Wednesday, July 01, 2020 at 7:00 PM.
Editors: No access to your user account to assign reviewers or make decisions.
Copyeditors: No access to user account. Please download manuscripts you are copyediting before Wednesday, July 01, 2020 at 7:00 PM.
Fietta V, Rizzi S, Gios L, Pavesi MC, De Luca C, Gabrielli S, Monaro M, Navarin N, Gadotti E, Mayora-Ibarra O, Purgato M, Barbui C, Forti S
World Health Organization Evidence-Based Self-Help Plus Intervention for Stress Management via Chatbot: Protocol for Adaptation to a Tech-Enabled Model
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited.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.
A chatbot based version of the WHO evidence-based intervention Self-Help+ for stress management: from manualized protocol to mobile application
Valentina Fietta;
Silvia Rizzi;
Lorenzo Gios;
Maria Chiara Pavesi;
Chiara De Luca;
Silvia Gabrielli;
Merylin Monaro;
Nicolò Navarin;
Erik Gadotti;
Oscar Mayora-Ibarra;
Marianna Purgato;
Corrado Barbui;
Stefano Forti
ABSTRACT
Background:
This research paper explores the use of digital technologies to expand mental health support, focusing on an evidence-based WHO low-intensity intervention called Self-Help Plus (SH+). The SH+ protocol has been integrated into a chatbot-guided mobile application called "ALBA."
Objective:
The present study aims to describe the adaptation (porting) of this approach i) from a face-to-face/group delivered intervention to a tech-enabled intervention and ii) to an adapted intervention for women with breast cancer and for women who are pregnant.
Methods:
The development process is based on multi-professional collaboration, and it embraces a user-centered design approach. It includes i) adapting the SH+ protocol to suit the chatbot-driven ALBA platform, ii) tailoring content to the target population, and iii) incorporating interactive features for improving engagement and potential efficacy.
Results:
Preliminary outcomes are promising, whilst a structured pathway to assess the usability, efficacy and scalability of the intervention is presented. The discussion focuses on the potential of virtual coaching applications in mental health, emphasising how new technologies could further improve accessibility and personalisation of the interventions.
Conclusions:
A final section explores future development scenarios, including real-world research and additional potential adaptations for different target groups and purposes, ranging from primary prevention to clinical practice.
Citation
Please cite as:
Fietta V, Rizzi S, Gios L, Pavesi MC, De Luca C, Gabrielli S, Monaro M, Navarin N, Gadotti E, Mayora-Ibarra O, Purgato M, Barbui C, Forti S
World Health Organization Evidence-Based Self-Help Plus Intervention for Stress Management via Chatbot: Protocol for Adaptation to a Tech-Enabled Model