Effectiveness and Safety of Using Chatbots to Improve Mental Health: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Journal of Medical Internet Research
Alaa Abd-AlrazaqMowafa Househ

Abstract

The global shortage of mental health workers has prompted the utilization of technological advancements, such as chatbots, to meet the needs of people with mental health conditions. Chatbots are systems that are able to converse and interact with human users using spoken, written, and visual language. While numerous studies have assessed the effectiveness and safety of using chatbots in mental health, no reviews have pooled the results of those studies. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of using chatbots to improve mental health through summarizing and pooling the results of previous studies. A systematic review was carried out to achieve this objective. The search sources were 7 bibliographic databases (eg, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO), the search engine "Google Scholar," and backward and forward reference list checking of the included studies and relevant reviews. Two reviewers independently selected the studies, extracted data from the included studies, and assessed the risk of bias. Data extracted from studies were synthesized using narrative and statistical methods, as appropriate. Of 1048 citations retrieved, we identified 12 studies examining the effect of using chatbots on 8 outcomes. Weak evidence d...Continue Reading

References

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Apr 6, 2019·Journal of Medical Internet Research·Adam PalanicaYan Fossat
Oct 18, 2019·International Journal of Medical Informatics·Alaa A Abd-AlrazaqMowafa Househ

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Citations

May 23, 2020·Journal of Medical Internet Research·Alaa Abd-AlrazaqKerstin Denecke
Jan 14, 2021·Journal of Medical Internet Research·Alaa A Abd-AlrazaqMowafa Househ
Mar 30, 2021·Informatics for Health & Social Care·Brendan Loo GeeKathleen M Griffiths
May 21, 2021·Journal of Medical Internet Research·Paul DimitriEkaterina Koledova
Jun 17, 2021·Journal of Medical Internet Research·Francesca BeilharzGemma Sharp
Sep 15, 2021·JMIR Formative Research·Matthew Louis MaurielloPablo Enrique Paredes
Nov 3, 2021·Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare·Xiaoyun ZhouMatthew Bambling

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Software Mentioned

CONSORT
ROBINS
Risk of Bias 2 ( RoB 2 Studies Interventions ( ROBINS - I )
Chatbots
Review Manager
EHEALTH
RevMan
Google Scholar

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