ArticleInternet interventions2020
Social robots as treatment agents: Pilot randomized controlled trial to deliver a behavior change intervention.
Article in Internet interventions, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed.
- Mental Imagery to Reduce Alcohol-related harm in patients with alcohol use disorder and alcohol-related liver damaGE: the MIRAGE randomised pilot trial results.BMJ open gastroenterology · 2024Trial
- Convergence of need technology and culture driving the era of physical AI in medicine.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Article
- LLM-powered socially assistive robot-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy exercises: an exploratory study with university students.Frontiers in robotics and AI · 2026Article
- A randomized pilot study evaluating socially assistive robot effects on patient engagement and care quality.NPJ digital medicine · 2025Article
- Adapting virtual agent interaction style with reinforcement learning to enhance affective engagement.Frontiers in digital health · 2025Article
- Designing for flourishing: a conceptual model for enhancing older adults' well-being with social robots.Frontiers in robotics and AI · 2025Article
- Coping with Emotional Distress via Self-Disclosure to Robots: An Intervention with Caregivers.International journal of social robotics · 2025Article
- Trauma-informed care approach in developing companion robots: a preliminary observational study.Frontiers in robotics and AI · 2025Article
- Developing an effective care model to empower caregivers to use a humanoid companion robot: an exploratory qualitative study.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Surgical Frontiers: A Comparative Review of Robotics Versus Laparoscopy in Gynecological Interventions.Cureus · 2023Review
- Co-designing the Embodiment of a Minimalist Social Robot to Encourage Hand Hygiene Practises Among Children in India.International journal of social robotics · 2023Article
- Article
- Efficacy of Emerging Technologies to Manage Childhood Obesity.Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity : targets and therapy · 2022Review
- Social Robots for Supporting Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Diagnosis and Treatment.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Article
- Say it aloud: Measuring change talk and user perceptions in an automated, technology-delivered adaptation of motivational interviewing delivered by video-counsellor.Internet interventions · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Social robots are increasingly demonstrating effectiveness as low-intensity behavior change agents. Key targets for these behavioral interventions include daily lifestyle behaviors with significant health consequences, such as the consumption of high-calorie foods and drinks ('snacks'). A pilot randomized controlled trial using a stepped-wedge design was conducted to determine the efficacy of a motivational intervention by an autonomous robot, to help reduce high-calorie snacks. Twenty-six adults were randomized to receive Immediate or 4-week Delayed treatment, with assessments at Baseline and Weeks 4 and 8. The treatment comprised motivation enhancement and self-management training using mental imagery (Functional Imagery Training). A significant condition by time effect for snack episode reduction was obtained,
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