ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health2024
The Impact of Interaction Time and Verbal Engagement with Personal Voice Assistants on Alleviating Loneliness among Older Adults: An Exploratory Study.
Article in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 4 of them syntheses 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.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Interventions against loneliness and social isolation in older adults- a systematic review.BMC public health · 2026Pooled it
- Autonomous conversational agents for loneliness, social isolation, depression, and anxiety in older people without cognitive impairment: Systematic review and meta-analysis.Psychological medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Wired for companionship: a meta-analysis on social robots filling the void of loneliness in later life.The Gerontologist · 2025Pooled it
- Mapping the global research landscape and trends of older people living alone: a bibliometric analysis.Frontiers in aging · 2025Pooled it
- Moderating effect of instrumental activities of daily living on the relationship between loneliness and depression in people with cognitive frailty.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- A More Connected Future: How Social Connection, Interdisciplinary Approaches, and New Technology Will Shape the Affective Science of Loneliness, a Commentary on the Special Issue.Affective science · 2024Review
- Understanding older people's voice interactions with smart voice assistants: a new modified rule-based natural language processing model with human input.Frontiers in digital health · 2024Article
- Factors influencing older adults' acceptance of voice assistants.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundLoneliness in older adults is a critical issue that negatively affects their well-being. The potential of personal voice assistant (PVA) devices like Amazon's Alexa Echo in reducing loneliness is an emerging area of interest, but it remains under-researched.
objectivethis study aims to investigate the effect of interaction time and verbal engagement with PVA devices on reducing loneliness among older adults living alone.
methodIn this experiment, individuals aged 75 and older (
resultsThe findings revealed that the total time spent interacting with Alexa was a significant predictor of loneliness reduction. A mediation analysis indicated an indirect effect, showing that the number of intentional commands spoken to Alexa contributed to loneliness reduction indirectly by increasing the total time spent with the device (verbal engagement → interaction time → loneliness reduction).
conclusionsThis study suggests that the key to reducing loneliness among older adults through PVA devices is not just initiating verbal interaction, but the overall time devoted to these interactions. While speaking to Alexa is a starting point, it is the duration of engagement that primarily drives loneliness alleviation.
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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.