PMID- 34533460
OWN - NLM
STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE
LR  - 20240403
IS  - 1929-0748 (Print)
IS  - 1929-0748 (Electronic)
IS  - 1929-0748 (Linking)
VI  - 10
IP  - 9
DP  - 2021 Sep 17
TI  - Conversational Agents for Health and Well-being Across the Life Course: Protocol 
      for an Evidence Map.
PG  - e26680
LID - 10.2196/26680 [doi]
LID - e26680
AB  - BACKGROUND: Conversational agents, which we defined as computer programs that are 
      designed to simulate two-way human conversation by using language and are 
      potentially supplemented with nonlanguage modalities, offer promising avenues for 
      health interventions for different populations across the life course. There is a 
      lack of open-access and user-friendly resources for identifying research trends 
      and gaps and pinpointing expertise across international centers. OBJECTIVE: Our 
      aim is to provide an overview of all relevant evidence on conversational agents 
      for health and well-being across the life course. Specifically, our objectives 
      are to identify, categorize, and synthesize-through visual formats and a 
      searchable database-primary studies and reviews in this research field. METHODS: 
      An evidence map was selected as the type of literature review to be conducted, as 
      it optimally corresponded to our aim. We systematically searched 8 databases 
      (MEDLINE; CINAHL; Web of Science; Scopus; the Cochrane, ACM, IEEE, and Joanna 
      Briggs Institute databases; and Google Scholar). We will perform backward 
      citation searching on all included studies. The first stage of a double-stage 
      screening procedure, which was based on abstracts and titles only, was conducted 
      by using predetermined eligibility criteria for primary studies and reviews. An 
      operational screening procedure was developed for streamlined and consistent 
      screening across the team. Double data extraction will be performed with 
      previously piloted data collection forms. We will appraise systematic reviews by 
      using A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) 2. Primary studies 
      and reviews will be assessed separately in the analysis. Data will be synthesized 
      through descriptive statistics, bivariate statistics, and subgroup analysis (if 
      appropriate) and through high-level maps such as scatter and bubble charts. The 
      development of the searchable database will be informed by the research questions 
      and data extraction forms. RESULTS: As of April 2021, the literature search in 
      the eight databases was concluded, yielding a total of 16,351 records. The first 
      stage of screening, which was based on abstracts and titles only, resulted in the 
      selection of 1282 records of primary studies and 151 records of reviews. These 
      will be subjected to second-stage screening. A glossary with operational 
      definitions for supporting the study selection and data extraction stages was 
      drafted. The anticipated completion date is October 2021. CONCLUSIONS: Our wider 
      definition of a conversational agent and the broad scope of our evidence map will 
      explicate trends and gaps in this field of research. Additionally, our evidence 
      map and searchable database of studies will help researchers to avoid fragmented 
      research efforts and wasteful redundancies. Finally, as part of the Harnessing 
      the Power of Conversational e-Coaches for Health and Well-being Through 
      Swiss-Portuguese Collaboration project, our work will also inform the development 
      of an international taxonomy on conversational agents for health and well-being, 
      thereby contributing to terminology standardization and categorization. 
      INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/26680.
CI  - (c)Mara Pereira Guerreiro, Leonardo Angelini, Helga Rafael Henriques, Mira El 
      Kamali, Cristina Baixinho, Joao Balsa, Isa Brito Felix, Omar Abou Khaled, Maria 
      Beatriz Carmo, Ana Paula Claudio, Maurizio Caon, Karl Daher, Bruno Alexandre, 
      Mafalda Padinha, Elena Mugellini. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols 
      (https://www.researchprotocols.org), 17.09.2021.
FAU - Guerreiro, Mara Pereira
AU  - Guerreiro MP
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-8192-6080
AD  - Nursing Research, Innovation and Development Centre of Lisbon, Nursing School of 
      Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.
AD  - Centro de Investigacao Interdisciplinar Egas Moniz, Instituto Universitario Egas 
      Moniz, Monte de Caparica, Portugal.
FAU - Angelini, Leonardo
AU  - Angelini L
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-8802-5282
AD  - University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, Fribourg, 
      Switzerland.
FAU - Rafael Henriques, Helga
AU  - Rafael Henriques H
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0003-2946-4485
AD  - Nursing Research, Innovation and Development Centre of Lisbon, Nursing School of 
      Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.
FAU - El Kamali, Mira
AU  - El Kamali M
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0003-2895-6867
AD  - University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, Fribourg, 
      Switzerland.
FAU - Baixinho, Cristina
AU  - Baixinho C
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-7417-1732
AD  - Nursing Research, Innovation and Development Centre of Lisbon, Nursing School of 
      Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.
AD  - CiTechare, Leiria, Portugal.
FAU - Balsa, Joao
AU  - Balsa J
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-8896-8152
AD  - LASIGE, Faculdade de Ciencias, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
FAU - Felix, Isa Brito
AU  - Felix IB
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-8186-9506
AD  - Nursing Research, Innovation and Development Centre of Lisbon, Nursing School of 
      Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.
FAU - Khaled, Omar Abou
AU  - Khaled OA
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-0178-9037
AD  - University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, Fribourg, 
      Switzerland.
FAU - Carmo, Maria Beatriz
AU  - Carmo MB
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-4768-9517
AD  - LASIGE, Faculdade de Ciencias, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
FAU - Claudio, Ana Paula
AU  - Claudio AP
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-4594-8087
AD  - LASIGE, Faculdade de Ciencias, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
FAU - Caon, Maurizio
AU  - Caon M
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0003-4050-4214
AD  - University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, Fribourg, 
      Switzerland.
FAU - Daher, Karl
AU  - Daher K
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0003-4071-4318
AD  - University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, Fribourg, 
      Switzerland.
FAU - Alexandre, Bruno
AU  - Alexandre B
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0003-0170-861X
AD  - Nursing School of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.
FAU - Padinha, Mafalda
AU  - Padinha M
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-4546-6854
AD  - Instituto Universitario Egas Moniz, Monte de Caparica, Portugal.
FAU - Mugellini, Elena
AU  - Mugellini E
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-0775-0862
AD  - University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, Fribourg, 
      Switzerland.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20210917
PL  - Canada
TA  - JMIR Res Protoc
JT  - JMIR research protocols
JID - 101599504
PMC - PMC8486996
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - artificial intelligence
OT  - chatbot
OT  - conversational agent
OT  - e-coach
OT  - health
OT  - intervention
OT  - relational agent
OT  - virtual assistant
OT  - virtual humans
OT  - well-being
COIS- Conflicts of Interest: None declared.
EDAT- 2021/09/18 06:00
MHDA- 2021/09/18 06:01
PMCR- 2021/09/17
CRDT- 2021/09/17 12:14
PHST- 2020/12/21 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2021/06/10 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2021/05/31 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2021/09/17 12:14 [entrez]
PHST- 2021/09/18 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2021/09/18 06:01 [medline]
PHST- 2021/09/17 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - v10i9e26680 [pii]
AID - 10.2196/26680 [doi]
PST - epublish
SO  - JMIR Res Protoc. 2021 Sep 17;10(9):e26680. doi: 10.2196/26680.