ArticleJMIR formative research2024
Effectiveness of a Mental Health Chatbot for People With Chronic Diseases: Randomized Controlled Trial.
Article in JMIR formative research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 19 papers, 3 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.
Evaluating the Usefulness of an Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) Mental Health Chatbot in a Healthcare Setting
Artificial Intelligence-Powered Support For Quality Of Life Improvement In Patients With Cancer
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Efficacy, User Engagement, and Acceptability of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy-Oriented Psychological Chatbots for Adults With Depressive and/or Anxiety Symptoms: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Pooled it
- The Efficacy of Rule-Based Versus Large Language Model-Based Chatbots in Alleviating Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- Does the Digital Therapeutic Alliance Exist? Integrative Review.JMIR mental health · 2025Pooled it
- Exploring Real-World Use of AI Chatbots for Mental Health Support: Cross-Sectional Survey Study.JMIR mental health · 2026Article
- The effectiveness of CBT-based NLP-enabled AI conversational agents for mental health intervention: a systematic review and meta-analysis.NPJ digital medicine · 2026Article
- Breaking Barriers in Student Mental Health Care With AI-Enhanced Group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Pilot Feasibility Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Review
- Effectiveness of AI and rule-based conversational agents for depression, anxiety and stress: A meta-analysis.NPJ digital medicine · 2026Article
- Effectiveness of Conversational Agents on Patient-Reported Outcomes in Chronic Pain Management: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Systematic review and meta analysis of chatbots in the management of depressive and anxiety symptoms.NPJ digital medicine · 2026Article
- Participatory-informed preference optimization (PiPrO): A reinforcement learning simulation study.PLOS digital health · 2026Article
- "Your Digital Doctor Will Now See You": A Narrative Review of VR and AI Technology in Chronic Illness Management.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Clinical Efficacy, Therapeutic Mechanisms, and Implementation Features of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy-Based Chatbots for Depression and Anxiety: Narrative Review.JMIR mental health · 2025Review
- Charting the evolution of artificial intelligence mental health chatbots from rule-based systems to large language models: a systematic review.World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) · 2025Article
- Development of a Smart Health Care Service Using Metaverse and Chatbot Technologies for Adolescents, Parents, and School Health Teachers: User-Centered Design Approach.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- The Mental Health Impacts of Internet Scams.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Review
- Self-help psychological intervention for young individuals during the post-COVID-19 era: development of a PST chatbot using GPT-4.Frontiers in digital health · 2025Article
- Effectiveness of a Mental Health Chatbot for People With Chronic Diseases: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR formative research · 2024Article
- Review
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPeople with chronic diseases tend to experience more mental health issues than their peers without these health conditions. Mental health chatbots offer a potential source of mental health support for people with chronic diseases.
objectiveThe aim of this study was to determine whether a mental health chatbot can improve mental health in people with chronic diseases. We focused on 2 chronic diseases in particular: arthritis and diabetes.
methodsIndividuals with arthritis or diabetes were recruited using various web-based methods. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups. Those in the treatment group used a mental health chatbot app (Wysa [Wysa Inc]) over a period of 4 weeks. Those in the control group received no intervention. Participants completed measures of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-7), and stress (Perceived Stress Scale-10) at baseline, with follow-up testing 2 and 4 weeks later. Participants in the treatment group completed feedback questions on their experiences with the app at the final assessment point.
resultsA total of 68 participants (n=47, 69% women; mean age 42.87, SD 11.27 years) were included in the analysis. Participants were divided evenly between the treatment and control groups. Those in the treatment group reported decreases in depression (P<.001) and anxiety (P<.001) severity over the study period. No such changes were found among participants in the control group. No changes in stress were reported by participants in either group. Participants with arthritis reported higher levels of depression (P=.004) and anxiety (P=.004) severity than participants with diabetes over the course of the study, as well as higher levels of stress (P=.01); otherwise, patterns of results were similar across these health conditions. In response to the feedback questions, participants in the treatment group said that they liked many of the functions and features of the app, the general design of the app, and the user experience. They also disliked some aspects of the app, with most of these reports focusing on the chatbot's conversational abilities.
conclusionsThe results of this study suggest that mental health chatbots can be an effective source of mental health support for people with chronic diseases such as arthritis and diabetes. Although cost-effective and accessible, these programs have limitations and may not be well suited for all individuals.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04620668; https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04620668.
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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.