Artificial Intelligence-Based Chatbot for Anxiety and Depression in University Students: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Artificial intelligence-based chatbots are emerging as instruments of psychological intervention; however, no relevant studies have been reported in Latin America. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present study was to evaluate the viability, acceptability, and potential impact of using Tess, a chatbot, for examining symptoms of depression and anxiety in university students. METHODS: This was a pilot randomized controlled trial. The experimental condition used Tess for 8 weeks, and the control condition was assigned to a psychoeducation book on depression. Comparisons were conducted using Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon tests for depressive symptoms, and independent and paired sample t tests to analyze anxiety symptoms. RESULTS: The initial sample consisted of 181 Argentinian college students (158, 87.2% female) aged 18 to 33. Data at week 8 were provided by 39 out of the 99 (39%) participants in the experimental condition and 34 out of the 82 (41%) in the control group. On an average, 472 (SD 249.52) messages were exchanged, with 116 (SD 73.87) of the messages sent from the users in response to Tess. A higher number of messages exchanged with Tess was associated with positive feedback (F2,36=4.37; P=.02). No significant differences between the experimental and control groups were found from the baseline to week 8 for depressive and anxiety symptoms. However, significant intragroup differences demonstrated that the experimental group showed a significant decrease in anxiety symptoms; no such differences were observed for the control group. Further, no significant intragroup differences were found for depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The students spent a considerable amount of time exchanging messages with Tess and positive feedback was associated with a higher number of messages exchanged. The initial results show promising evidence for the usability and acceptability of Tess in the Argentinian population. Research on chatbots is still in its initial stages and further research is needed.

Expanding Access to Perinatal Depression Treatment in Kenya Through Automated Psychological Support: Development and Usability Study.

BACKGROUND: Depression during pregnancy and in the postpartum period is associated with poor outcomes for women and their children. Although effective interventions exist for common mental disorders that occur during pregnancy and the postpartum period, most cases in low- and middle-income countries go untreated because of a lack of trained professionals. Task-sharing models such as the Thinking Healthy Program have shown potential in feasibility and efficacy trials as a strategy for expanding access to treatment in low-resource settings; however, there are significant barriers to scale-up. We address this gap by adapting Thinking Healthy for automated delivery via a mobile phone. This new intervention, Healthy Moms, uses an existing artificial intelligence system called Tess (Zuri in Kenya) to drive conversations with users. OBJECTIVE: This prepilot study aims to gather preliminary data on the Healthy Moms perinatal depression intervention to learn how to build and test a more robust service. METHODS: We conducted a single-case experimental design with pregnant women and new mothers recruited from public hospitals outside of Nairobi, Kenya. We invited these women to complete a brief, automated screening delivered via text messages to determine their eligibility. Enrolled participants were randomized to a 1- or 2-week baseline period and then invited to begin using Zuri. We prompted participants to rate their mood via SMS text messaging every 3 days during the baseline and intervention periods, and we used these preliminary repeated measures data to fit a linear mixed-effects model of response to treatment. We also reviewed system logs and conducted in-depth interviews with participants to study engagement with the intervention, feasibility, and acceptability. RESULTS: We invited 647 women to learn more about Zuri: 86 completed our automated SMS screening and 41 enrolled in the study. Most of the enrolled women submitted at least 3 mood ratings (31/41, 76%) and sent at least 1 message to Zuri (27/41, 66%). A third of the sample engaged beyond registration (14/41, 34%). On average, women who engaged post registration started 3.4 (SD 3.2) Healthy Moms sessions and completed 3.1 (SD 2.9) of the sessions they started. Most interviewees who tried Zuri reported having a positive attitude toward the service and expressed trust in Zuri. They also attributed positive life changes to the intervention. We estimated that using this alpha version of Zuri may have led to a 7% improvement in mood. CONCLUSIONS: Zuri is feasible to deliver via SMS and was acceptable to this sample of pregnant women and new mothers. The results of this prepilot study will serve as a baseline for future studies in terms of recruitment, data collection, and outcomes. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.2196/11800.

Ethical Artificial Intelligence for Digital Health Organizations.

This technical report describes the methods undertaken by a US-based Digital Health company (X2AI or X2 for short) to develop an ethical code for startup environments and other organizations delivering emotional artificial intelligence (AI) services, especially for mental health support. With a growing demand worldwide for scalable, affordable, and accessible health care solutions, the use of AI offers tremendous potential to improve emotional well-being. To realize this potential, it is imperative that AI service providers prioritize clear and consistent ethical guidelines that align with global considerations regarding user safety and privacy. This report offers a template for an ethical code that can be implemented by other emotional AI services and their affiliates. It includes practical guidelines for integrating support from clients, collaborators, and research partners. It also shows how existing ethical systems can inform the development of AI ethics.

Feasibility of pediatric obesity and prediabetes treatment support through Tess, the AI behavioral coaching chatbot.

Behavioral intervention technologies (BITs) are unique ways to incorporate the benefits of technology and psychology to address differing health needs through various media, including Internet interventions, mobile apps, and video games. BITs present several possible benefits, including increased dissemination and accessibility, cost-effectiveness, increased engagement, and decreased stigma, especially among youth. A behavioral coaching chatbot, Tess, addresses different facets of behavioral health, such as depression and anxiety. Available 24/7, Tess delivers customized integrative support, psychoeducation, and interventions through brief conversations via existing communication channels (i.e., SMS text messaging and Facebook Messenger). This study assessed the feasibility of integrating Tess in behavioral counseling of adolescent patients (n = 23; Mage = 15.20 years; Rangeage = 9.78-18.54 years; 57% female) coping with weight management and prediabetes symptoms. Tess engaged patients via a preferred method of communication (SMS text messaging) in individualized conversations to promote treatment adherence, behavior change, and overall wellness. Adolescent patients reported experiencing positive progress toward their goals 81% of the time. The 4,123 messages exchanged and patients' reported usefulness ratings (96% of the time) illustrate that adolescents engaged with and viewed this chatbot as helpful. These results highlight the feasibility and benefit of support through artificial intelligence, specifically in a pediatric setting, which could be scaled to serve larger groups of patients. As a partner to clinicians, Tess can continue the therapeutic interaction outside office hours while maintaining patient satisfaction. Due to Tess's capacity for continuous learning, future iterations may have additional features to increase the user experience.

Psychological Artificial Intelligence Service, Tess: Delivering On-demand Support to Patients and Their Caregivers: Technical Report.

This technical report highlights how one mental health chatbot, or psychological artificial intelligence service named Tess, has been customized to deliver on-demand support for caregiving professionals, patients, and family caregivers at a non-profit organization. This low-cost, user friendly, and highly customizable service allows emotional support to be scaled to thousands of people at a single time. The following report describes the phased approach to implementing Tess in order to reach staff, caregivers, and patients across Canada and the United States.

Expanding Access to Depression Treatment in Kenya Through Automated Psychological Support: Protocol for a Single-Case Experimental Design Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: Depression during pregnancy and in the postpartum period is associated with a number of poor outcomes for women and their children. Although effective interventions exist for common mental disorders that occur during pregnancy and the postpartum period, most cases in low- and middle-income countries go untreated because of a lack of trained professionals. Task-sharing models such as the Thinking Healthy Program have shown great potential in feasibility and efficacy trials as a strategy for expanding access to treatment in low-resource settings, but there are significant barriers to scale-up. We are addressing this gap by adapting Thinking Healthy for automated delivery via a mobile phone. This new intervention, Healthy Moms, uses an existing artificial intelligence system called Tess (Zuri in Kenya) to drive conversations with users. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this pilot study is to test the Healthy Moms perinatal depression intervention using a single-case experimental design with pregnant women and new mothers recruited from public hospitals outside of Nairobi, Kenya. METHODS: We will invite patients to complete a brief, automated screening delivered via text messages to determine their eligibility. Enrolled participants will be randomized to a 1- or 2-week baseline period and then invited to begin using Zuri. Participants will be prompted to rate their mood via short message service every 3 days during the baseline and intervention periods. We will review system logs and conduct in-depth interviews with participants to study engagement with the intervention, feasibility, and acceptability. We will use visual inspection, in-depth interviews, and Bayesian estimation to generate preliminary data about the potential response to treatment. RESULTS: Our team adapted the intervention content in April and May 2018 and completed an initial prepilot round of formative testing with 10 women from a private maternity hospital in May and June. In preparation for this pilot study, we used feedback from these users to revise the structure and content of the intervention. Recruitment for this protocol began in early 2019. Results are expected toward the end of 2019. CONCLUSIONS: The main limitation of this pilot study is that we will recruit women who live in urban and periurban centers in one part of Kenya. The results of this study may not generalize to the broader population of Kenyan women, but that is not an objective of this phase of work. Our primary objective is to gather preliminary data to know how to build and test a more robust service. We are working toward a larger study with a more diverse population. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/11800.

Using Psychological Artificial Intelligence (Tess) to Relieve Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety: Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Students in need of mental health care face many barriers including cost, location, availability, and stigma. Studies show that computer-assisted therapy and 1 conversational chatbot delivering cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) offer a less-intensive and more cost-effective alternative for treating depression and anxiety. Although CBT is one of the most effective treatment methods, applying an integrative approach has been linked to equally effective posttreatment improvement. Integrative psychological artificial intelligence (AI) offers a scalable solution as the demand for affordable, convenient, lasting, and secure support grows. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the feasibility and efficacy of using an integrative psychological AI, Tess, to reduce self-identified symptoms of depression and anxiety in college students. METHODS: In this randomized controlled trial, 75 participants were recruited from 15 universities across the United States. All participants completed Web-based surveys, including the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), and Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) at baseline and 2 to 4 weeks later (T2). The 2 test groups consisted of 50 participants in total and were randomized to receive unlimited access to Tess for either 2 weeks (n=24) or 4 weeks (n=26). The information-only control group participants (n=24) received an electronic link to the National Institute of Mental Health's (NIMH) eBook on depression among college students and were only granted access to Tess after completion of the study. RESULTS: A sample of 74 participants completed this study with 0% attrition from the test group and less than 1% attrition from the control group (1/24). The average age of participants was 22.9 years, with 70% of participants being female (52/74), mostly Asian (37/74, 51%), and white (32/74, 41%). Group 1 received unlimited access to Tess, with daily check-ins for 2 weeks. Group 2 received unlimited access to Tess with biweekly check-ins for 4 weeks. The information-only control group was provided with an electronic link to the NIMH's eBook. Multivariate analysis of covariance was conducted. We used an alpha level of .05 for all statistical tests. Results revealed a statistically significant difference between the control group and group 1, such that group 1 reported a significant reduction in symptoms of depression as measured by the PHQ-9 (P=.03), whereas those in the control group did not. A statistically significant difference was found between the control group and both test groups 1 and 2 for symptoms of anxiety as measured by the GAD-7. Group 1 (P=.045) and group 2 (P=.02) reported a significant reduction in symptoms of anxiety, whereas the control group did not. A statistically significant difference was found on the PANAS between the control group and group 1 (P=.03) and suggests that Tess did impact scores. CONCLUSIONS: This study offers evidence that AI can serve as a cost-effective and accessible therapeutic agent. Although not designed to appropriate the role of a trained therapist, integrative psychological AI emerges as a feasible option for delivering support. TRIAL REGISTRATION: International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number: ISRCTN61214172; https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN61214172.