21-Day Stress Detox: Open Trial of a Universal Well-Being Chatbot for Young Adults

There has been a lot of interest in digital mental health interventions but adherence to online programmes has been less than optimal. Chatbots that mimic brief conversations may be a more engaging and acceptable mode of delivery. We developed a chatbot, called 21-Day Stress Detox, to deliver stress...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Ruth Williams, Sarah Hopkins, Chris Frampton, Chester Holt-Quick, Sally Nicola Merry, Karolina Stasiak
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	chatbots stress anxiety emerging adults digital health low intensity intervention Social Sciences H
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/94626d29aa15407a8baf5a1095a5fd32
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:94626d29aa15407a8baf5a1095a5fd32
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:94626d29aa15407a8baf5a1095a5fd322021-11-25T18:59:41Z21-Day Stress Detox: Open Trial of a Universal Well-Being Chatbot for Young Adults10.3390/socsci101104162076-0760https://doaj.org/article/94626d29aa15407a8baf5a1095a5fd322021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/11/416https://doaj.org/toc/2076-0760There has been a lot of interest in digital mental health interventions but adherence to online programmes has been less than optimal. Chatbots that mimic brief conversations may be a more engaging and acceptable mode of delivery. We developed a chatbot, called 21-Day Stress Detox, to deliver stress management techniques for young adults. The purpose of the study was to explore the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of this low-intensity digital mental health intervention in a non-clinical population of young adults. The content was derived from cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and included evidence-informed elements such as mindfulness and gratitude journaling. It was delivered over 21 daily sessions using the Facebook Messenger platform. Each session was intended to last about 5–7 min and included text, animated GIFs, relaxation tracks and reflective exercises. We conducted an open single-arm trial collecting app usage through passive data collection as well as self-rated satisfaction and qualitative (open-ended) feedback. Efficacy was assessed via outcome measures of well-being (World Health Organisation (Five) Well-being Index; WHO-5; and Personal Well-being Measure; ONS4); stress (Perceived Stress Scale–10 item version; PSS-10); and anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale; GAD-7). One hundred and ten of the 124 participants who completed baseline commenced the chatbot and 64 returned the post-intervention assessment. Eighty-one percent were female and 51% were first year students. Forty-five percent were NZ European and 41% were Asian. Mean engagement was 11 days out 21 days (<i>SD</i> = 7.8). Most (81%) found the chatbot easy to use. Sixty-three percent rated their satisfaction as 7 out of 10 or higher. Qualitative feedback revealed that convenience and relatable content were the most valued features. There was a statistically significant improvement on the WHO-5 of 7.38 (SD = 15.07; <i>p</i> < 0.001) and a mean reduction on the PSS-10 of 1.77 (SD = 4.69; <i>p</i> = 0.004) equating to effect sizes of 0.49 and 0.38, respectively. Those who were clinically anxious at baseline (<i>n</i> = 25) experienced a greater reduction of GAD-7 symptoms than those (<i>n</i> = 39) who started the study without clinical anxiety (−1.56, SD = 3.31 vs. 0.67, SD = 3.30; <i>p</i> = 0.011). Using a chatbot to deliver universal psychological support appears to be feasible, acceptable, have good levels of engagement, and lead to significant improvements in well-being and stress. Future iterations of the chatbot should involve a more personalised content.Ruth WilliamsSarah HopkinsChris FramptonChester Holt-QuickSally Nicola MerryKarolina StasiakMDPI AGarticlechatbotsstressanxietyemerging adultsdigital healthlow intensity interventionSocial SciencesHENSocial Sciences, Vol 10, Iss 416, p 416 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	chatbots stress anxiety emerging adults digital health low intensity intervention Social Sciences H
spellingShingle	chatbots stress anxiety emerging adults digital health low intensity intervention Social Sciences H Ruth Williams Sarah Hopkins Chris Frampton Chester Holt-Quick Sally Nicola Merry Karolina Stasiak 21-Day Stress Detox: Open Trial of a Universal Well-Being Chatbot for Young Adults
description	There has been a lot of interest in digital mental health interventions but adherence to online programmes has been less than optimal. Chatbots that mimic brief conversations may be a more engaging and acceptable mode of delivery. We developed a chatbot, called 21-Day Stress Detox, to deliver stress management techniques for young adults. The purpose of the study was to explore the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of this low-intensity digital mental health intervention in a non-clinical population of young adults. The content was derived from cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and included evidence-informed elements such as mindfulness and gratitude journaling. It was delivered over 21 daily sessions using the Facebook Messenger platform. Each session was intended to last about 5–7 min and included text, animated GIFs, relaxation tracks and reflective exercises. We conducted an open single-arm trial collecting app usage through passive data collection as well as self-rated satisfaction and qualitative (open-ended) feedback. Efficacy was assessed via outcome measures of well-being (World Health Organisation (Five) Well-being Index; WHO-5; and Personal Well-being Measure; ONS4); stress (Perceived Stress Scale–10 item version; PSS-10); and anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale; GAD-7). One hundred and ten of the 124 participants who completed baseline commenced the chatbot and 64 returned the post-intervention assessment. Eighty-one percent were female and 51% were first year students. Forty-five percent were NZ European and 41% were Asian. Mean engagement was 11 days out 21 days (<i>SD</i> = 7.8). Most (81%) found the chatbot easy to use. Sixty-three percent rated their satisfaction as 7 out of 10 or higher. Qualitative feedback revealed that convenience and relatable content were the most valued features. There was a statistically significant improvement on the WHO-5 of 7.38 (SD = 15.07; <i>p</i> < 0.001) and a mean reduction on the PSS-10 of 1.77 (SD = 4.69; <i>p</i> = 0.004) equating to effect sizes of 0.49 and 0.38, respectively. Those who were clinically anxious at baseline (<i>n</i> = 25) experienced a greater reduction of GAD-7 symptoms than those (<i>n</i> = 39) who started the study without clinical anxiety (−1.56, SD = 3.31 vs. 0.67, SD = 3.30; <i>p</i> = 0.011). Using a chatbot to deliver universal psychological support appears to be feasible, acceptable, have good levels of engagement, and lead to significant improvements in well-being and stress. Future iterations of the chatbot should involve a more personalised content.
format	article
author	Ruth Williams Sarah Hopkins Chris Frampton Chester Holt-Quick Sally Nicola Merry Karolina Stasiak
author_facet	Ruth Williams Sarah Hopkins Chris Frampton Chester Holt-Quick Sally Nicola Merry Karolina Stasiak
author_sort	Ruth Williams
title	21-Day Stress Detox: Open Trial of a Universal Well-Being Chatbot for Young Adults
title_short	21-Day Stress Detox: Open Trial of a Universal Well-Being Chatbot for Young Adults
title_full	21-Day Stress Detox: Open Trial of a Universal Well-Being Chatbot for Young Adults
title_fullStr	21-Day Stress Detox: Open Trial of a Universal Well-Being Chatbot for Young Adults
title_full_unstemmed	21-Day Stress Detox: Open Trial of a Universal Well-Being Chatbot for Young Adults
title_sort	21-day stress detox: open trial of a universal well-being chatbot for young adults
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/94626d29aa15407a8baf5a1095a5fd32
work_keys_str_mv	AT ruthwilliams 21daystressdetoxopentrialofauniversalwellbeingchatbotforyoungadults AT sarahhopkins 21daystressdetoxopentrialofauniversalwellbeingchatbotforyoungadults AT chrisframpton 21daystressdetoxopentrialofauniversalwellbeingchatbotforyoungadults AT chesterholtquick 21daystressdetoxopentrialofauniversalwellbeingchatbotforyoungadults AT sallynicolamerry 21daystressdetoxopentrialofauniversalwellbeingchatbotforyoungadults AT karolinastasiak 21daystressdetoxopentrialofauniversalwellbeingchatbotforyoungadults
_version_	1718410477129695232

21-Day Stress Detox: Open Trial of a Universal Well-Being Chatbot for Young Adults

Ejemplares similares