Learning healthy habits with a mobile self-intervention

Promoting Physical Activity Through Conversational Agents: Mixed Methods Systematic Review

“…PA was the sole target of intervention in half of the studies [ 12 , 13 , 32 , 35 , 37 , 38 , 41 , 43 , 45 , 46 ]. In the other half of the studies, PA was a primary target, but there were additional targets such as diet [ 33 , 34 , 36 , 39 , 44 ], fruit and vegetable consumption [ 30 , 31 , 40 ], medication adherence [ 14 ], mental well-being [ 33 , 36 ], stress management [ 33 , 34 , 36 , 44 ], and sun protection [ 42 ]. A total of 60% (12/20) studies used subjective measures to gauge intervention effectiveness and user satisfaction, and the other 40% (8/20) studies relied on objective data from pedometers or accelerometers.…”

“…Of the 17 conversational agents, 10 (59%) were computer-based [ 12 - 14 , 30 - 32 , 35 , 36 , 40 , 42 , 43 , 45 , 46 ], 4 (24%) could be used on computers or phones [ 33 , 34 , 39 , 41 ], and 3 (18%) were designed for mobile devices only [ 37 , 38 , 44 ]. Conversational agents were implemented using standalone computer software [ 12 - 14 , 30 - 32 , 40 , 42 , 43 , 45 , 46 ], messaging apps [ 33 , 34 , 39 , 41 ], web-based platforms [ 35 , 36 ], mobile apps [ 38 , 44 ], and SMS text messaging or MMS [ 37 ].…”

“…In total, of the 17 agents, 8 (47%) were embodied conversational agents (ECAs) with synthesized speech [ 12 - 14 , 30 - 32 , 36 , 40 , 42 , 45 , 46 ], 6 (35%) were text-only chatbots [ 33 , 34 , 37 - 39 , 41 ], and 3 (18%) had both an ECA and chatbot option [ 35 , 43 , 44 ]. With all 17 conversational agents, participants gave input by typing on a keyboard or selecting answer options with a mouse, touchpad, or touchscreen; 59% (10/17) of the conversational agents limited users to constrained input, whereby users selected answers from a multiple-choice list of options, and conversational agents responded according to predefined templates [ 12 - 14 , 30 - 32 , 36 , 38 , 40 , 43 - 46 ].…”

“…The remaining 30% (3/10) of RCTs used conversational agents in both experimental and control groups but varied the conversational agent conditions (eg, cash incentives vs charity incentives vs no incentives [ 38 ], rewards vs no rewards [ 41 ], and ECA vs text-only chatbot [ 44 ]). In 67% (2/3) of these studies, interacting with a conversational agent significantly increased step counts and self-reported activity across all conditions; however, including financial incentives and rewards further boosted activity levels [ 38 , 41 ].…”

“…In 67% (2/3) of these studies, interacting with a conversational agent significantly increased step counts and self-reported activity across all conditions; however, including financial incentives and rewards further boosted activity levels [ 38 , 41 ]. The last RCT determined that conversational agents were useful but limited by low adherence [ 44 ].…”