“Welcome to your Daily Wellness Check”: The Proposed Evaluation of a SMS-based Conversational Agent for Managing Health and Wellbeing

Abstract

University students tend to sacrifice healthy lifestyles in favor of academic and financial gain. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to online schooling and reduced access to healthcare resources. To mitigate these pressures, artificial intelligence conversational agents (CA) have addressed mental wellness in the general population but are yet to address physical well-being. Therefore, a CA that can address barriers and improve physical and mental well-being by cultivating healthy behaviors is desired. This research is designed to evaluate the feasibility and user experience of a text-based CA on addressing student barriers for a healthy lifestyle using evidence-based theories including the Theory of Planned Behavior and Motivational Interviewing over a two-week timeframe. Data collection has been paused due to the pandemic; results are expected to show positive impacts on well-being outcomes compared to an information-only control group and support the implementation of CAs to those with less accessibility to healthcare resources.

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