NCT04806165

Treatment Uptake Chatbot for Eating Disorders

Developing an Optimized Conversational Agent or "Chatbot" to Facilitate Mental Health Services Use in Individuals With Eating Disorders

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 205 (actual)
• Sponsor: Washington University School of Medicine · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Eating disorders (EDs) are serious mental illnesses associated with high morbidity and mortality, clinical impairment, and comorbid psychopathology. Although evidence-based treatments for EDs have been established, the treatment gap is wide. Indeed, \<20% of individuals with EDs receive treatment. There is need for a novel solution not only to identify individuals with EDs but also to encourage mental health services use and to address treatment barriers. This study aims to implement a conversational agent or "chatbot" that is optimized to increase mental health services use among individuals with EDs through such features as: 1) education on the seriousness and consequences of EDs; 2) engaging the user in motivational interviewing to overcome barriers to care; 3) providing a personalized recommendation for seeking intervention; 4) repeated check-ins with the user to encourage follow-up with care. This study will utilize a randomized optimization trial with adults who have completed screening on the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) website and screen positive for an ED but are not in treatment to determine chatbot feasibility and to generate data on the effect of the chatbot on motivation for treatment and mental health services use. This trial will employ the Multiphase Optimization Strategy framework, using a 2\^4 full factorial design, to randomly assign participants to a combination of the four proposed intervention components (n=16 conditions) to isolate the active ingredients.

Conditions

• Eating Disorders

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Repeated Administration	A discussion with the chatbot, including follow ups over the course of 2 weeks to encourage help seeking for their eating disorder.
BEHAVIORAL	Personalized Recommendation	A discussion with the chatbot, including identifying a personalized recommendation for accessing help for their eating disorder.
BEHAVIORAL	Motivational Interviewing	A discussion with the chatbot, including motivational interviewing techniques to help overcome barriers to seeking care for their eating disorder.
BEHAVIORAL	Core Modules Only	A discussion with the chatbot, including only the core modules.
BEHAVIORAL	Motivational Interviewing, Personalized Recommendation, Repeated Administration	A discussion with the chatbot, including motivational interviewing techniques to help overcome barriers to seeking care for their eating disorder, identifying a personalized recommendation for accessing help for their eating disorder, and follow ups over the course of 2 weeks to encourage help seeking for their eating disorder.
BEHAVIORAL	Motivational Interviewing, Repeated Administration	A discussion with the chatbot, including motivational interviewing techniques to help overcome barriers to seeking care for their eating disorder and follow ups over the course of 2 weeks to encourage help seeking for their eating disorder.
BEHAVIORAL	Motivational Interviewing, Personalized Recommendation	A discussion with the chatbot, including motivational interviewing techniques to help overcome barriers to seeking care for their eating disorder and identifying a personalized recommendation for accessing help for their eating disorder.
BEHAVIORAL	Personalized Recommendation, Repeated Administration	A discussion with the chatbot, including identifying a personalized recommendation for accessing help for their eating disorder and follow ups over the course of 2 weeks to encourage help seeking for their eating disorder.
BEHAVIORAL	Psychoeducation	A discussion with the chatbot, including psychoeducational content to increase knowledge related to eating disorders.
BEHAVIORAL	Psychoeducation, Repeated Administration	A discussion with the chatbot, including psychoeducational content to increase knowledge related to eating disorders and follow ups over the course of 2 weeks to encourage help seeking for their eating disorder.
BEHAVIORAL	Psychoeducation, Personalized Recommendation	A discussion with the chatbot, including psychoeducational content to increase knowledge related to eating disorders and identifying a personalized recommendation for accessing help for their eating disorder.
BEHAVIORAL	Psychoeducation, Motivational Interviewing	A discussion with the chatbot, including psychoeducational content to increase knowledge related to eating disorders and motivational interviewing techniques to help overcome barriers to seeking care for their eating disorder.
BEHAVIORAL	Psychoeducation, Motivational Interviewing, Personalized Recommendation	A discussion with the chatbot, including psychoeducational content to increase knowledge related to eating disorders, motivational interviewing techniques to help overcome barriers to seeking care for their eating disorder, and identifying a personalized recommendation for accessing help for their eating disorder.
BEHAVIORAL	Psychoeducation, Personalized Recommendation, Repeated Administration	A discussion with the chatbot, including psychoeducational content to increase knowledge related to eating disorders, identifying a personalized recommendation for accessing help for their eating disorder, and follow ups over the course of 2 weeks to encourage help seeking for their eating disorder.
BEHAVIORAL	Psychoeducation, Motivational Interviewing, Repeated Administration	A discussion with the chatbot, including psychoeducational content to increase knowledge related to eating disorders, motivational interviewing techniques to help overcome barriers to seeking care for their eating disorder, and follow ups over the course of 2 weeks to encourage help seeking for their eating disorder.
BEHAVIORAL	Psychoeducation, Motivational Interviewing, Personalized Recommendation, Repeated Administration	A discussion with the chatbot, including psychoeducational content to increase knowledge related to eating disorders, motivational interviewing techniques to help overcome barriers to seeking care for their eating disorder, identifying a personalized recommendation for accessing help for their eating disorder, and follow ups over the course of 2 weeks to encourage help seeking for their eating disorder.

Timeline

• Start date: 2021-03-09
• Primary completion: 2022-03-09
• Completion: 2022-05-09
• First posted: 2021-03-19
• Last updated: 2023-10-11
• Results posted: 2023-10-11

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States