Evaluation of a Guided Chatbot Intervention for Young People in Jordan: Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial.

IF 5.8 2区 医学 Q1 PSYCHIATRY
Jmir Mental Health Pub Date : 2025-02-05 DOI:10.2196/63515
Anne Marijn de Graaff, Rand Habashneh, Sarah Fanatseh, Dharani Keyan, Aemal Akhtar, Adnan Abualhaija, Muhannad Faroun, Ibrahim Said Aqel, Latefa Dardas, Chiara Servili, Mark van Ommeren, Richard Bryant, Kenneth Carswell
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Abstract

Background: Depression and anxiety are a leading cause of disability worldwide and often start during adolescence and young adulthood. The majority of young people live in low- and middle-income countries where there is a lack of mental health services. The World Health Organization (WHO) developed a guided, nonartificial intelligence chatbot intervention called Scalable Technology for Adolescents and youth to Reduce Stress (STARS) to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety among young people affected by adversity.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of the STARS intervention and study procedures among young people in Jordan.

Methods: A 2-arm, single-blind, feasibility randomized controlled trial was conducted among 60 young people aged 18 years to 21 years living in Jordan with self-reported elevated levels of psychological distress. Immediately after baseline, participants were randomized 1:1 into the STARS intervention or enhanced care as usual (ECAU). STARS consisted of 10 lessons in which participants interacted with a chatbot and learned several cognitive behavioral therapy strategies, with optional guidance by a trained e-helper through 5 weekly phone calls. ECAU consisted of a static web page providing basic psychoeducation. Online questionnaires were administered at baseline (week 0) and postassessment (week 8) to assess depression (Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 [HSCL-25]), anxiety (HSCL-25), functional impairment (WHO Disability Assessment Schedule [WHODAS] 2.0), psychological well-being (WHO-Five Well-Being Index [WHO-5]), and agency (State Hope Scale). Process evaluation interviews with stakeholders were conducted after the postassessment.

Results: Participants were recruited in December 2022 and January 2023. Of 700 screening website visits, 160 participants were eligible, and 60 participants (mean age 19.7, SD 1.16 years; 49/60, 82% female) continued to baseline and were randomized into STARS (n=30) or ECAU (n=30). Of those who received STARS, 37% (11/30) completed at least 8 chatbot lessons, and 13% (4/30) completed all 5 support calls. The research protocol functioned well in terms of balanced randomization, high retention at postassessment (48/60, 80%), and good psychometric properties of the online questionnaires. Process evaluation interviews with STARS participants, ECAU participants, e-helpers, and the clinical supervisor indicated the acceptability of the study procedures and the STARS and ECAU conditions and highlighted several aspects that could be improved, including the e-helper support and features of the STARS chatbot.

Conclusions: This study demonstrated the feasibility and acceptability of the STARS intervention and research procedures. A fully powered, definitive randomized controlled trial will be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of STARS.

Trial registration: ISRCTN ISRCTN19217696; https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN19217696.

Abstract Image

Abstract Image

约旦年轻人的引导聊天机器人干预评估:可行性随机对照试验。
背景:抑郁和焦虑是世界范围内致残的主要原因,通常始于青春期和青年期。大多数年轻人生活在缺乏精神卫生服务的低收入和中等收入国家。世界卫生组织(世卫组织)开发了一种名为“青少年减压可扩展技术”(STARS)的指导性非人工智能聊天机器人干预措施,以减轻受逆境影响的年轻人的抑郁和焦虑症状。目的:本研究的目的是评估STARS干预和研究程序在约旦年轻人中的可行性。方法:一项2组、单盲、可行性随机对照试验,对60名生活在约旦的18至21岁的自我报告心理困扰水平升高的年轻人进行了研究。基线后,参与者立即按1:1随机分为STARS干预组或照常强化护理组(ECAU)。STARS包括10节课,参与者与聊天机器人互动,学习几种认知行为治疗策略,并接受训练有素的电子助手通过每周5次电话的可选指导。ECAU由一个提供基本心理教育的静态网页组成。在基线(第0周)和评估后(第8周)进行在线问卷调查,以评估抑郁(霍普金斯症状清单-25 [HSCL-25])、焦虑(HSCL-25)、功能障碍(世卫组织残疾评估表[WHODAS] 2.0)、心理健康(世卫组织五幸福指数[WHO-5])和代理(国家希望量表)。后评估后与利益相关者进行过程评估访谈。结果:参与者于2022年12月和2023年1月被招募。在700次筛选网站访问中,160名参与者符合条件,60名参与者(平均年龄19.7岁,SD 1.16岁;49/60(82%女性)继续基线治疗,随机分为STARS组(n=30)或ECAU组(n=30)。在接受STARS的人中,37%(11/30)完成了至少8个聊天机器人课程,13%(4/30)完成了所有5个支持电话。该研究方案在平衡随机化、高后评估保留率(48/60,80%)和良好的在线问卷心理测量特性方面运行良好。对STARS参与者、ECAU参与者、电子助手和临床主管的过程评估访谈表明了研究程序、STARS和ECAU条件的可接受性,并强调了可以改进的几个方面,包括电子助手支持和STARS聊天机器人的功能。结论:本研究证明了STARS干预和研究程序的可行性和可接受性。将进行一项完全有力的、明确的随机对照试验来评估STARS的有效性。试验注册:ISRCTN ISRCTN19217696;https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN19217696。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Jmir Mental Health
Jmir Mental Health Medicine-Psychiatry and Mental Health
CiteScore
10.80
自引率
3.80%
发文量
104
审稿时长
16 weeks
期刊介绍: JMIR Mental Health (JMH, ISSN 2368-7959) is a PubMed-indexed, peer-reviewed sister journal of JMIR, the leading eHealth journal (Impact Factor 2016: 5.175). JMIR Mental Health focusses on digital health and Internet interventions, technologies and electronic innovations (software and hardware) for mental health, addictions, online counselling and behaviour change. This includes formative evaluation and system descriptions, theoretical papers, review papers, viewpoint/vision papers, and rigorous evaluations.
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