Trial reportJournal of medical Internet research2024
An Automated Conversational Agent Self-Help Program: Randomized Controlled Trial.
Trial report in Journal of medical Internet research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06208566 (A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Bot-based Self-help Program), which is not on this map. Cited by 4 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.
A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Bot-based Self-help Program (WELL)
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Systematic review exploring human, AI, and hybrid health coaching in digital health interventions: trends, engagement, and lifestyle outcomes.Frontiers in digital health · 2025Pooled it
- Urologists' Estimation of Online Support Group Utilization Behavior of Their Patients With Newly Diagnosed Nonmetastatic Prostate Cancer in Germany: Predefined Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Trial
- An Automated Conversational Agent Self-Help Program: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Trial
- 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
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHealth promotion and growth-based interventions can effectively improve individual well-being; however, significant gaps in access and utilization still exist.
objectiveThis study aims to develop and test the effectiveness and implementation of a new, widely targeted conversational agent prevention program (Zenny) designed to enhance well-being.
methodsA total of 1345 individuals in the United States were recruited online and randomly assigned to either (1) a self-help program intervention delivered via an automated conversational agent on WhatsApp or (2) an active control group that had access to evidence-based wellness resources available online. The primary outcomes were well-being (measured using the 5-item World Health Organization Well-being Scale), psychosocial flourishing (assessed with the Flourishing Scale), and positive psychological health (evaluated with the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form). Outcome measures were collected at baseline and again 1 month postassessment. All analyses were conducted using an intention-to-treat approach.
resultsBoth groups showed significant improvements in well-being (self-help program intervention group effect size: Cohen d=0.26, P<.001; active control group effect size: d=0.24, P<.001), psychosocial flourishing (intervention: d=0.19, P<.001; active control: d=0.18, P<.001), and positive psychological health (intervention: d=0.17, P=.001; active control: d=0.24, P<.001) at postassessment. However, there were no significant differences in effectiveness between the 2 groups (P ranged from .56 to .92). As hypothesized a priori, a greater number of days spent actively engaging with the conversational agent was associated with larger improvements in well-being at postassessment among participants in the intervention group (β=.109, P=.04).
conclusionsThe findings from this study suggest that the free conversational agent wellness self-help program was as effective as evidence-based web resources. Further research should explore strategies to increase participant engagement over time, as only a portion of participants were actively involved, and higher engagement was linked to greater improvements in well-being. Long-term follow-up studies are also necessary to assess whether these effects remain stable over time.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT06208566; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT06208566; OSF Registries osf.io/ahe2r; https://doi.org/10.17605/osf.io/ahe2r.
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