Trial reportThe American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry2021
Aging and Engaging: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of an Online Conversational Skills Coach for Older Adults.
Trial report in The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Conversational Agent Interventions for Mental Health Problems: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Pooled it
- Assessing the Value for Money of AI-Assisted Technologies for Older Adults: Scoping Review of Economic Evaluations.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Conversational AI in Cognitive and Social Training for People with Dementia: A Systematic Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Reducing Loneliness and Social Isolation Through the HELPeN Telephone-Call Program: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Older Adults Living in the Community.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Interpersonal neural synchronization underlies interactive concept learning in older adults.NPJ science of learning · 2025Article
- Roles, Users, Benefits, and Limitations of Chatbots in Health Care: Rapid Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Review
- Review
- Digital interventions to reduce social isolation and loneliness in older adults: An evidence and gap map.Campbell systematic reviews · 2023Article
- Developmental Study on "Smart Silver Care": A Mobile Application to Alleviate Loneliness in Older Adults within the Community.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Conversational Agents in Health Care: Scoping Review of Their Behavior Change Techniques and Underpinning Theory.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Article
- Needs Analysis for Non-Face-to-Face Services among Older Adults to Reduce Loneliness.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Voice-Enabled Intelligent Virtual Agents for People With Amnesia: Systematic Review.JMIR aging · 2022Review
- Social Disconnection in Late Life Suicide: An NIMH Workshop on State of the Research in Identifying Mechanisms, Treatment Targets, and Interventions.The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveCommunication difficulties negatively impact relationship quality and are associated with social isolation and loneliness in later life. There is a need for accessible communication interventions offered outside specialty mental health settings.
designPilot randomized controlled trial.
settingAssessments in the laboratory and intervention completed in-home.
participantsTwenty adults age 60 and older from the community and a geriatric psychiatry clinic.
interventionA web-based communication coach that provides automated feedback on eye contact, facial expressivity, speaking volume, and negative content (Aging and Engaging Program, AEP), delivered with minimal assistance in the home (eight brief sessions over 4-6 weeks) or control (education and videos on communication). MEASUREMENTS: System Usability Scale and Social Skills Performance Assessment, an observer-rated assessment of social communication elicited through standardized role-plays.
resultsNinety percent of participants completed all AEP sessions and the System Usability Scale score of 68 was above the cut-off for acceptable usability. Participants randomized to AEP demonstrated statistically and clinically significant improvement in eye contact and facial expressivity.
conclusionThe AEP is acceptable and feasible for older adults with communication difficulties to complete at home and may improve eye contact and facial expressivity, warranting a larger RCT to confirm efficacy and explore potential applications to other populations, including individuals with autism and social anxiety.
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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.