ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2021
Development, Feasibility, Acceptability, and Utility of an Expressive Speech-Enabled Digital Health Agent to Deliver Online, Brief Motivational Interviewing for Alcohol Misuse: Descriptive Study.
Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 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
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- Language Use in Conversational Agent-Based Health Communication: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Pooled it
- Embodied Intelligence Applications in Health Care Populations: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Perspective on Using Artificial Intelligence in Alcohol Research and Treatment: Opportunities and Ethical Considerations.Alcohol research : current reviews · 2025Review
- A systematic review of chatbot-assisted interventions for substance use.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- Embodied Conversational Agents Providing Motivational Interviewing to Improve Health-Related Behaviors: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Article
- Factors Influencing the Acceptability, Acceptance, and Adoption of Conversational Agents in Health Care: Integrative Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Review
- A Digital Counselor-Delivered Intervention for Substance Use Among People With HIV: Development and Usability Study.JMIR formative research · 2023Article
- The Cultural Adaption of a Sobriety Support App for Alaska Native and American Indian People: Qualitative Feasibility and Acceptability Study.JMIR formative research · 2023Article
- Exploring the characteristics of conversational agents in chronic disease management interventions: A scoping review.Digital healthArticle
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 at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDigital health agents - embodied conversational agents designed specifically for health interventions - provide a promising alternative or supplement to behavioral health services by reducing barriers to access to care.
objectiveOur goals were to (1) develop an expressive, speech-enabled digital health agent operating in a 3-dimensional virtual environment to deliver a brief behavioral health intervention over the internet to reduce alcohol use and to (2) understand its acceptability, feasibility, and utility with its end users.
methodsWe developed an expressive, speech-enabled digital health agent with facial expressions and body gestures operating in a 3-dimensional virtual office and able to deliver a brief behavioral health intervention over the internet to reduce alcohol use. We then asked 51 alcohol users to report on the digital health agent acceptability, feasibility, and utility.
resultsThe developed digital health agent uses speech recognition and a model of empathetic verbal and nonverbal behaviors to engage the user, and its performance enabled it to successfully deliver a brief behavioral health intervention over the internet to reduce alcohol use. Descriptive statistics indicated that participants had overwhelmingly positive experiences with the digital health agent, including engagement with the technology, acceptance, perceived utility, and intent to use the technology. Illustrative qualitative quotes provided further insight about the potential reach and impact of digital health agents in behavioral health care.
conclusionsWeb-delivered interventions delivered by expressive, speech-enabled digital health agents may provide an exciting complement or alternative to traditional one-on-one treatment. They may be especially helpful for hard-to-reach communities with behavioral workforce shortages.
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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.