Engaging women with an embodied conversational agent to deliver mindfulness and lifestyle recommendations: A feasibility randomized control trial.
Paula M Gardiner, Kelly D McCue, Lily M Negash and 5 others
PMID 28495391WHAT IT FOUND
Satisfaction with an animated computer coach was not clearly higher than paper sheets and a meditation recording in women, though the coach was feasible and users liked it.
Small changes in alcohol use for stress and fruit servings were secondary findings.
Key findings
01Satisfaction with the animated coach was not clearly higher than satisfaction with paper sheets plus a meditation recording.
02The study was feasible: 61 women were recruited over 12 months, and outcome data were collected from 57.
03Secondary outcomes in the animated coach group, which delivered mindfulness, stress management, healthy eating, and physical activity content, showed less alcohol use for stress (35% to 14% vs 30% to 31%) and more average fruit servings (2 to 4 vs 2 to 2) than in the control group given sheets plus a meditation recording.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This was a feasibility study, not a fully powered trial of effectiveness. The sample was small, and outcome data were collected from 57 of 61 enrolled women. The intervention lasted only 30 days. Participants were English-speaking women aged 18 to 50 years with access to a telephone and computer with internet, and those with mental health or substance abuse problems were excluded. Many outcomes were self-reported. The research assistant knew which group participants were in. The coach group received mindfulness, stress management, healthy eating, and physical activity content plus training, while the control group received sheets plus meditation recordings, so the effect of any single component cannot be separated. Some positive results were secondary outcomes rather than the primary satisfaction outcome.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that the animated coach itself changes health behavior. Satisfaction was not higher than paper sheets plus a meditation recording, the study was a small feasibility trial, and the coach delivered mindfulness, stress management, healthy eating, and physical activity together, so any single component cannot be separated.