A Conversational Agent for an Online Mental Health Intervention
This study investigated suitability of chatbots for a mental health intervention, specifically alcohol drinking habits assessment. The target group was young adults 18 25 years, the highest consumers of alcohol per capita in Australia. A chatbot program was developed to perform a standard assessment of alcohol drinking habits (AUDIT C, 3 items rated on 5 point scale) to determine the level of health risk. Additionally, the chatbot provided information and education on responsible alcohol use, giving recommendations and feedback post assessment using a pre populated database of factual response contents. Usability and user satisfaction were determined by a cohort study of 17 volunteer participants. Overall, the trial indicated strong positive reception of the intervention by users.
BIH