Engaging women with an embodied conversational agent to deliver mindfulness and lifestyle recommendations: A feasibility randomized control trial

PATIENT EDUCATION AND COUNSELING

卷:100

Article

Gardiner, Paula M.¹  McCue, Kelly D.¹  Negash, Lily M.¹  Cheng, Teresa¹  White, Laura F.¹  Yinusa-Nyahkoon, Leanne¹  Jack, Brian W.¹  Bickmore, Timothy W.² 

[1] Boston Univ, Sch Med, Boston Med Ctr, Dept Family Med, 1 Boston Med Ctr Pl,Dowling 5 South, Boston, MA 02118 USA

[2] Northeastern Univ, Coll Comp & Informat Sci, Boston, MA 02115 USA

关键词: Embodied conversational agent;    Mindfulness;    Mindfulness based stress reduction;    Stress management;    Healthy eating;    Nutrition;    Physical activity;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.pec.2017.04.015

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Objective: This randomized controlled trial evaluates the feasibility of using an Embodied Conversational Agent (ECA) to teach lifestyle modifications to urban women. Methods: Women were randomized to either 1) an ECA (content included: mindfulness, stress management, physical activity, and healthy eating) or 2) patient education sheets mirroring same content plus a meditation CD/MP3 once a day for one month. General outcome measures included: number of stress management techniques used, physical activity levels, and eating patterns. Results: Sixty-one women ages 18 to 50 were enrolled. On average, 51% identified as white, 26% as black, 23% as other races; and 20% as Hispanic. The major stress management techniques reported at baseline were: exercise (69%), listening to music (70%), and social support (66%). After one month, women randomized to the ECA significantly decreased alcohol consumption to reduce stress (p = 0.03) and increased daily fruit consumption by an average of 2 servings compared to the control (p = 0.04). Conclusion: It is feasible to use an ECA to promote health behaviors on stress management and healthy eating among diverse urban women. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

Free