Trial reportJournal of medical Internet research2016
Improving Access to Online Health Information With Conversational Agents: A Randomized Controlled Experiment.
Trial report in Journal of medical Internet research, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- The Effectiveness and Feasibility of Conversational Agents in Supporting Care for Patients With Cancer: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- Computer-Controlled Virtual Humans in Patient-Facing Systems: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Pooled it
- Adherence to Electronic Health Tools Among Vulnerable Groups: Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Pooled it
- Health Literacy in Web-Based Health Information Environments: Systematic Review of Concepts, Definitions, and Operationalization for Measurement.Journal of medical Internet research · 2018Pooled it
- A mobile relational agent to enhance atrial fibrillation self-care: Primary and secondary outcomes of a randomized controlled trial.American heart journal · 2025Trial
- The mobile health intervention for rural patients with atrial fibrillation a randomized controlled trial.International journal of cardiology · 2025Trial
- Augmenting Engagement in Decentralized Clinical Trials for Atrial Fibrillation: Development and Implementation of a Programmatic Architecture.JMIR cardio · 2025Trial
- Conversational Chatbot for Cigarette Smoking Cessation: Results From the 11-Step User-Centered Design Development Process and Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2024Trial
- Embodied Intelligence Applications in Health Care Populations: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Patient engagement and shared decision-making in trial recruitment intervention studies: a systematic review.Research involvement and engagement · 2025Review
- Efficacy of a conversational chatbot for cigarette smoking cessation: Protocol of the QuitBot full-scale randomized controlled trial.Contemporary clinical trials · 2024Article
- Effectiveness of the Medical Chatbot PROSCA to Inform Patients About Prostate Cancer: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial.European urology open science · 2024Article
- Recruitment in Appalachian, Rural and Older Adult Populations in an Artificial Intelligence World: Study Using Human-Mediated Follow-Up.JMIR formative research · 2024Article
- Describing the content of trial recruitment interventions using the TIDieR reporting checklist: a systematic methodology review.BMC medical research methodology · 2024Article
- Chatbots to Improve Sexual and Reproductive Health: Realist Synthesis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Review
- The Effects of a Health Care Chatbot's Complexity and Persona on User Trust, Perceived Usability, and Effectiveness: Mixed Methods Study.JMIR human factors · 2023Article
- The Use of Chatbots in Oncological Care: A Narrative Review.International journal of general medicine · 2023Review
- Design, rationale, and baseline characteristics of a randomized controlled trial evaluating a mobile relational agent to enhance atrial fibrillation self-care.Contemporary clinical trials · 2023Article
- Validity of Chatbot Use for Mental Health Assessment: Experimental Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundConventional Web-based search engines may be unusable by individuals with low health literacy for finding health-related information, thus precluding their use by this population.
objectiveWe describe a conversational search engine interface designed to allow individuals with low health and computer literacy identify and learn about clinical trials on the Internet.
methodsA randomized trial involving 89 participants compared the conversational search engine interface (n=43) to the existing conventional keyword- and facet-based search engine interface (n=46) for the National Cancer Institute Clinical Trials database. Each participant performed 2 tasks: finding a clinical trial for themselves and finding a trial that met prespecified criteria.
resultsResults indicated that all participants were more satisfied with the conversational interface based on 7-point self-reported satisfaction ratings (task 1: mean 4.9, SD 1.8 vs mean 3.2, SD 1.8, P<.001; task 2: mean 4.8, SD 1.9 vs mean 3.2, SD 1.7, P<.001) compared to the conventional Web form-based interface. All participants also rated the trials they found as better meeting their search criteria, based on 7-point self-reported scales (task 1: mean 3.7, SD 1.6 vs mean 2.7, SD 1.8, P=.01; task 2: mean 4.8, SD 1.7 vs mean 3.4, SD 1.9, P<.01). Participants with low health literacy failed to find any trials that satisfied the prespecified criteria for task 2 using the conventional search engine interface, whereas 36% (5/14) were successful at this task using the conversational interface (P=.05).
conclusionsConversational agents can be used to improve accessibility to Web-based searches in general and clinical trials in particular, and can help decrease recruitment bias against disadvantaged populations.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.