Chatbots in Healthcare Interventions: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials v (Preprint)

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Li ◽  
Bingqian Zhu ◽  
Xu Liu ◽  
Jing LI ◽  
Dapeng Chen ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Chatbot or virtual conversational agent is a typical programme of utilizing AI technology in mimicking human interactions. More robust and high-quality clinical trials have been conducted to test the effectiveness of chatbot-based interventions, however, there was a lack of a synthesis of the best available evidence. OBJECTIVE To examine the best available evidence of the application of chatbot-based interventions in the healthcare context. METHODS Seven databases were searched from inception until October 2021. Two reviewers independently selected the studies, extracted data from the included studies, and assessed the risk of bias. Study qualities were assessed by the RoB 2.0 tool. Silberg Scale was used to evaluate the quality of the chatbots systems utilized in the reviewed studies. RESULTS Twenty-one studies were included in the data synthesis. Studies of using chatbot-based interventions are feasible and an average moderate to a high level of participants acceptability of the intervention was reported. The intervention approaches mainly included cognitive-behavioural interventions, health education/counselling, storytelling acceptance and commitment therapy, and coping skills training. Findings indicate significant improvements in participants’ physical activity and physical function, healthy lifestyle modifications, symptoms/knowledge of the diseases, as well as mental health and psychosocial outcomes. The overall quality varies among the included studies as assessed by the RoB 2.0 tool. The average Silberg score was 5.4 with an SD of 1.6, out of the 9 points. CONCLUSIONS Our review findings indicate that chatbot-based interventions are feasible, acceptability and have positive effects on a variety of healthcare outcomes. Chatbots can provide low threshold access to healthcare services, and they can serve as a medical assistant to support patients’ recovery or health education/promotion needs before or after medical treatment without location restrictions. Also, the chatbot interventions can play an adjunct role and be integrated into the current health systems, which could improve the comprehensiveness of the healthcare services as well as save physicians’ time to see more patients or give more intensive care. CLINICALTRIAL PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews No.CRD42021262512.

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-345
Author(s):  
Flávia Silva Oliveira ◽  
Flaviana Vieira ◽  
Jessica Oliveira Cecilio ◽  
Janaína Valadares Guimarães ◽  
Suzanne Hetzel Campbell

Abstract Objectives: to analyze the effectiveness on health education to prevent nipple trauma in breastfeeding compared to other interventions. Methods: systematic literature review was carried out in January 2019, according to PRISMA recommendations. The searches were conducted in Cinahl, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and in the references cited in the selected articles. The studies were assessed for quality and level of evidence according to the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE). Results: twelve studies were selected, all conducted at the maternities. The interventions were classified in two categories: health education on breastfeeding and the use of nipple covers. Health education on breastfeeding presents a moderate level of evidence on the prevention of nipple trauma. There is a moderate to high level of evidence on the positive effects of guaiazulene, gel or peppermint water applied in the postpartum period to prevent nipple trauma. Conclusion: health education on breastfeeding with clinical demonstration is an important strategy to prevent nipple trauma and requires more than one educational approach. The use of nipple covers requires some consideration, since they must be removed prior to breastfeeding. All interventions were conducted in the postpartum period, which points out for the necessity of clinical research to prevent nipple trauma in prenatal care.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 4836-4846
Author(s):  
Mohsina Hyder K ◽  
Raja D ◽  
Jithin Mohan ◽  
Ponnusankar S

Currently, 314 million people in the world are Prediabetes, and it is predicted that around 500 million would be burdened by the year 2025. Continuing education of diabetes and its complications is crucial, but it should be accompanied with regular assessment of Knowledge Attitude and Practice (KAP) among the high-risk population. That would play a cost-effective role in prevention and control of the disease.This study was carried out to assess the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice among the newly diagnosed Prediabetes screened over selected districts of South India.This study was conducted through prediabetes screening camps over districts of Calicut, Wayanad and Malappuram in Kerala and The Nilgiris district in Tamilnadu from September 2017 to October 2019. A questionnaire survey was done as a part of a prospective open-label interventional study with 308 prediabetes individuals. Baseline characteristics of the participants were obtained, and their knowledge, attitude and practice regarding Prediabetes were assessed. The finding of the present study revealed 90% of the respondents had poor knowledge, 9% had average knowledge, and only 1% had good knowledge of Prediabetes. In the attitude assessment, only 1.9% had a strongly positive attitude, 14% had a positive attitude, 54% had neutral attitude while 17% had a negative attitude and 13% had a strongly negative attitude. Regarding healthy lifestyle practices, 35.4% had a deplorable practice that scored below 6. Around half of the population, 52.3% had poor practice, 12% had proper training, while only 0.3% had a perfect practice.Knowledge and practice regarding lifestyle modifications among prediabetes participants were found to be reduced. 


Author(s):  
I. P. Danilov ◽  
N. I. Vlakh ◽  
V. I. Gugushvili ◽  
N. Ya. Paneva ◽  
T. D. Logunova

Introduction. A healthy lifestyle is one of the most eff ective methods of preserving health and preventing non-infectious diseases. The mechanisms and factors that infl uence the formation of motivation for health and a healthy lifestyle in employees engaged in harmful working conditions have not been suffi ciently studied. The study of these mechanisms will allow us to more eff ectively shape health-saving behavior.The aim of the study is to study negative aff ectivity, social suppression and anxiety in the formation of motivation to maintain health and a healthy lifestyle in coal industry workers.Materials and methods. A survey was conducted of 75 employees of mines and sections in the South of Kuzbass with an established diagnosis of occupational diseases, as well as 54 people who do not work in harmful working conditions (engineering and technical workers). Surveys were conducted using the method “Index of motivation to health and a healthy lifestyle”, the presence of personality type D was conducted using the DS14 questionnaire, the level of personal and situational anxiety was assessed using the Spielberger — Hanin questionnaire.Results. Th e level of motivation for health and a healthy lifestyle among patients with occupational diseases is signifi cantly lower than the level of motivation for the health of engineering and technical workers. Th e infl uence of negative reaction and social suppression on the level of motivation for health and a healthy lifestyle was not found. Th e level of situational anxiety also has no eff ect on health motivation. A higher level of personal anxiety among people with a high level of motivation for a healthy lifestyle was determined.Conclusions. Personal anxiety aff ects the level of motivation for health and a healthy lifestyle in people with occupational diseases. 


Author(s):  
Tony Bonser

This chapter includes a personal view of advance care planning (ACP) from Tony Bonser, whose son, Neil died aged 35 and who now works for the National Council for Palliative Care, with examples from others. It describes the importance and impact of ACP on people nearing the end of life and their families, and recommends that ACP should be mainstreamed across health and social care as part of good practice, and become part of the public debate through movements like Dying Matters. It affirms that ACP: enables a dialogue to be started; must be centred on patients and enable the implementation of patient wishes; will centre on giving advice rather than prescribing outcomes; has positive effects; needs high-level communication skills; helps restore control; and has societal implications.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (24) ◽  
pp. 9144
Author(s):  
Elena Chatzopoulou ◽  
Márcio Carocho ◽  
Francesco Di Gioia ◽  
Spyridon A. Petropoulos

The Mediterranean diet (MD) concept as currently known describes the dietary patterns that were followed in specific regions of the area in the 1950s and 1960s. The broad recognition of its positive effects on the longevity of Mediterranean populations also led to the adoption of this diet in other regions of the world, and scientific interest focused on revealing its health effects. MD is not only linked with eating specific nutritional food products but also with social, religious, environmental, and cultural aspects, thus representing a healthy lifestyle in general. However, modern lifestyles adhere to less healthy diets, alienating people from their heritage. Therefore, considering the increasing evidence of the beneficial health effects of adherence to the MD and the ongoing transitions in consumers’ behavior, the present review focuses on updating the scientific knowledge regarding this diet and its relevance to agrobiodiversity. In addition, it also considers a sustainable approach for new marketing opportunities and consumer trends of the MD.


Trials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Guerrini Usubini ◽  
Roberto Cattivelli ◽  
Emanuele Maria Giusti ◽  
Francesco Vailati Riboni ◽  
Giorgia Varallo ◽  
...  

Abstract Background As treatment of choice in promoting psychological flexibility, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) was found to be effective in several conditions, and among different populations, including weight management in individuals with obesity. However, the mechanism of action of psychological flexibility is less known. The aim of the present study is, within the context of a brief ACT intervention for behavioral change and behavioral maintenance of a healthy lifestyle in a sample of inpatients with obesity, to explore the effect of each subcomponent of the psychological flexibility model on treatment processes and outcomes. Methods A randomized controlled trial will be conducted. Ninety Italian adult inpatients with obesity attending a rehabilitation program for weight loss will be randomly allocated into three experimental conditions targeting respectively each subcomponent of the psychological flexibility model: group Engage focused on values-oriented behaviors, group Openness focused on acceptance and cognitive defusion, and group Awareness focused on being present and aware of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors at every moment. Weight, BMI (kg/m2), the Psychological General Well-Being Inventory (PGWBI), the Outcome Questionnaire-45.2 (OQ-45.2), the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), the Dutch Eating Behaviors Questionnaire (DEBQ), the Brief Values Inventory (BVI), the Committed Action Questionnaire (CAQ), the Italian-Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (I-CFQ), the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), and the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II) will be assessed at the beginning (time 0), at the end of psychological intervention (time 1), and after 3 (time 2) and 6 months (time 3) and 9 months (time 4) from discharge. During the following month after discharge, outpatients will be monitored in their adherence to a healthy lifestyle, using a wearable device. To assess the effectiveness of the intervention, mixed between-within 3 (conditions) × 4 (times) repeated measure ANOVAs will be conducted to examine changes from time 0 to time 1, 2, 3, and 4 in means of weight, BMI, and means of scores PGWBI, OQ-45.2, DASS, DERS, DEBQ, AAQ-II, BVI, CAQ, I-CFQ, and FFMQ, between three groups. Discussion This study will contribute to clarify the mechanism of action of each subcomponent of the psychological flexibility model and understand its impact on the promotion of a healthy lifestyle. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.govNCT04474509. Registered on July 4, 2020


Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Francesco Ratto ◽  
Tiziana Fanni ◽  
Luigi Raffo ◽  
Carlo Sau

With the diffusion of cyber-physical systems and internet of things, adaptivity and low power consumption became of primary importance in digital systems design. Reconfigurable heterogeneous platforms seem to be one of the most suitable choices to cope with such challenging context. However, their development and power optimization are not trivial, especially considering hardware acceleration components. On the one hand high level synthesis could simplify the design of such kind of systems, but on the other hand it can limit the positive effects of the adopted power saving techniques. In this work, the mutual impact of different high level synthesis tools and the application of the well known clock gating strategy in the development of reconfigurable accelerators is studied. The aim is to optimize a clock gating application according to the chosen high level synthesis engine and target technology (Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) or Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA)). Different levels of application of clock gating are evaluated, including a novel multi level solution. Besides assessing the benefits and drawbacks of the clock gating application at different levels, hints for future design automation of low power reconfigurable accelerators through high level synthesis are also derived.


2019 ◽  
Vol 119 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 341-349
Author(s):  
Laura Ionescu ◽  
Lacramioara Ursache ◽  
Adelina Nicolae ◽  
Adriana Conea ◽  
Cristian Potora ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on parents of children with hearing disabilities from Romania and has three objectives. First, it assesses their characteristics regarding use of communication technology. Second, it investigates their opinions regarding the importance of school-based education for healthy lifestyle promotion among their children. Third, it evaluates the availability for their involvement in educational activities using face-to-face approach and communication technology dedicated to helping parents to promote healthy lifestyle among their children, as well as factors which influence this availability. Design/methodology/approach The study was performed in October–November 2015 in two schools deserving children with hearing disabilities from North-West part of Romania. Anonymous questionnaire were filled in by 182 parents. Findings The majority of parents recognize the importance of school-based health education and more than 77 per cent totally agree that it should include issues regarding healthy nutrition, promotion of physical activity and smoking prevention. In total, 80.2 per cent of the parents declared that they are interested to participate in educational activities organized periodically at school and 66.5 per cent declared their interest in educational activities developed through communication technology in order to help them to stimulate the adoption of healthy lifestyle among their children. The availability was influenced by residence, educational level, understanding the importance of parents’ involvement, characteristics regarding the use of communication technology. Originality/value This represents the first study from Romania investigating the opinions and availability for their involvement with regard to school health education among parents of children with hearing deficiencies. The results have several implications for health education among children with hearing deficiencies and their parents.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
G Graffigna ◽  
S Barello ◽  
L Palamenghi ◽  
M Savarese ◽  
G Castellini

Abstract Background At the end of February 2020 a new case was diagnosed with COVID-19 in north Italy, suddenly followed by new cases. Italian health authorities decided to enforce restrictive measures. Northern areas of Italy were identified as “red areas” to slow down the epidemic and its impact on the healthcare system. From this perspective, the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy constitutes a testing ground for the assessment of the ability of consumers to cope with this health risk. Methods A cross-sectional study on a representative sample of 1000 Italian citizens was conducted over the period 27 February- 5 March exploring the following hypotheses: 1) less engaged individuals are more concerned for the health emergency and feel more vulnerable; 2) less engaged have higher probability to develop negative attitudes and dysfunctional behaviors. Results only the 16% the interviewees presented a high level of engagement. Lower levels of engagement were measured in the southern parts of Italy (not yet touched by the epidemics at the time of data collection). People with lowers levels of engagement reported higher fears for the contagion and sense of vulnerability. Furthermore, they showed the lower levels of trust in the Public Health Authorities, in medical research and in vaccines. Finally, they appeared more dismissive in their preventive behaviors and more disorganized in the fruition of the healthcare services. Conclusions A psychological analysis of processes of attitudinal and role change in the direction of becoming more engaged in health prevention is worthy in order to forecast potential dysfunctional reactions to restrictive health prevention measures and to orient personalized education initiatives to consumers with different level of engagement. Key messages Profiling based on the levels of health engagement is important in order to plan more effective healthcare measures during epidemics. Targeted educational initiatives should take into account citizens' engagement profiles.


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