Can virtual human clinicians help close the gap in colorectal cancer screening for rural adults in the United States? The influence of rural identity on perceptions of virtual human clinicians

Embodied Conversational Agents for Chronic Diseases: Scoping Review

“…One study was conducted in 3 countries (Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands) [ 42 ], and another study did not provide any information [ 35 ]. Among the studies that reported a study design, mixed method studies (8/36, 22%) [ 10 , 28 , 39 - 44 ] and pilot studies (8/36, 22%) [ 31 , 34 , 38 , 45 - 48 ] were the most commonly used study designs, followed by qualitative studies (6/36, 17%) [ 11 , 26 , 35 , 49 - 51 ], randomized controlled trials (5/36, 14%) [ 32 , 37 , 52 - 54 ], ongoing trials (4/36, 11%) [ 33 , 55 - 57 ], quasiexperimental designs (2/36, 6%) [ 30 ], longitudinal study (1/36, 3%) [ 29 ], single-group nonrandomized trial (1/36, 3%) [ 36 ], and pre- and posttest design (1/36, 3%) [ 27 ]. Of the 36 studies, 30 (83%) were conducted on patients (15/36, 42%) [ 10 , 26 , 32 , 34 - 37 , 40 , 42 , 47 , 52 , 54 - 57 ] or healthy individuals (15/36, 42%) [ 11 , 27 , 29 - 31 , 44 - 46 , 48 - 51 , 53 ] and 6 (17%) [ 28 , 33 , 38 , 39 , 41 , 43 ] on stakeholders such as homecare providers or experts.…”

“…Across 67% (24/36) of the studies, we found that ECAs were given 9 different names, including ALEX [ 31 , 45 , 46 , 48 , 51 ], Tanya [ 30 , 34 , 35 , 52 , 53 ], Danya [ 43 ], Anne [ 41 , 42 , 47 , 57 ], Sylvia [ 40 ], Laura [ 10 , 26 , 37 ], Vitoria [ 39 ], iHeartHelper [ 33 ], and Ellie [ 54 ]. Of 36 studies, 14 (39%) reported that ECAs assumed the role of virtual health coaches or counselors [ 10 , 26 , 30 , 32 , 34 - 37 , 43 , 47 , 52 , 53 , 57 ], whereas others described them as virtual health assistants (n=9, 25%) [ 11 , 31 , 33 , 39 , 44 , 48 - 50 ], virtual clinicians (n=3, 8%) [ 45 , 46 , 51 ], health providers (n=2, 6%) [ 27 , 29 ], a virtual human interviewer (n=1, 3%) [ 54 ], and a semiexpert (n=1, 3%) [ 40 ]. Of the 36 studies, only 1 (3%) [ 40 ] provided basic information about the ECA, such as age, place of residence, and education level.…”

“…Regarding the communication modalities of ECAs, 14 agents were able to communicate with users through verbal and nonverbal behaviors [ 10 , 27 , 30 , 32 , 33 , 35 , 36 , 38 , 39 , 41 , 45 , 54 ,​ 55 , 57 ]. Nonverbal behavior included facial displays of emotions, gaze shifts, eyebrow raises, head nods, body posture shifts, and hand gestures [ 30 , 37 , 53 ].…”

Perceptions of Palliative Care: Demographics and Health Status Among the General Population in Florida and the United States

“…The 5-item Rural Identity scale 25 was used to assess the sense of belonging and group attitudes. Rural identity item responses are designed on a seven-point Likert scale with responses ranging from 0 (representing "Not at All") to 6 (representing "Extremely") α = .79.…”

Embodied Conversational Agents for Chronic Diseases: Scoping Review (Preprint)

“…One study was conducted in 3 countries (Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands) [42], and another study did not provide any information [35]. Among the studies that reported a study design, mixed method studies (8/36, 22%) [10,28,[39][40][41][42][43][44] and pilot studies (8/36, 22%) [31,34,38,[45][46][47][48] were the most commonly used study designs, followed by qualitative studies (6/36, 17%) [11,26,35,[49][50][51], randomized controlled trials (5/36, 14%) [32,37,[52][53][54], ongoing trials (4/36, 11%) [33,[55][56][57], quasiexperimental designs (2/36, 6%) [30], longitudinal study (1/36, 3%) [29], single-group nonrandomized trial (1/36, 3%) [36], and pre-and posttest design (1/36, 3%) [27]. Of the 36 studies, 30 (83%) were conducted on patients (15/36, 42%) [10,26,32,[34][35][36][37]40,42,…”