NCT05531058

The Impact of a Web-based Psychoeducation Programme with a Motivational AI Chatbot on Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy

[AI-driven Vaccine Communicator: the Impact of a Web-based Psychoeducation Programme with a Motivational AI-based Digital Assistant on Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Hong Kong's Population

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 168 (actual)
• Sponsor: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Vaccine hesitancy is defined as 'delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines, despite the availability of vaccine service' and was named one of the top ten global health threats by the World Health Organization in 2019. Our proposed study will aim to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a Web-based psychoeducation programme to address Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy, 'AI-driven Vaccine Communicator' (including educational materials, animations of vaccine research and development, and an MI communication skills-based AI, digital assistant). Our goal is to standardise our intervention so that it can serve as an effective toolkit for clinicians/healthcare providers to increase Hong Kong residents' motivation to vaccinate and to ensure that the programme can be adapted to viral mutations and newly developed vaccines in the medium/long term.

Detailed description

This study is a two-arm, single-blind pilot randomized controlled trial, and it will be adopted to evaluate the efficacy of the 'AI-driven Vaccine Communicator' relative to being self-informed about Covid-19 vaccines. Also, to address the widespread hesitancy among Hong Kong residents toward Covid-19 vaccines, we will develop a Web-based psychoeducation programme, 'AI-driven Vaccine Communicator,' driven by artificial intelligence (AI) techniques based on the Vaccine Hesitancy Determinants Matrix Model and MI communication skills and concepts (theoretical underpinnings). After developing and piloting this programme, we will test its effectiveness among members of the population who are hesitant about Covid-19 vaccines. The programme will then be refined further and standardised to use the most relevant information and effective communication skills to promote acceptance of Covid-19 vaccines among a wider Hong Kong population. Clinicians and healthcare providers will be able to utilise our programme as a toolkit in their usual practice when working with clients who are hesitant about Covid-19 vaccines.

Conditions

• Vaccine Hesitancy
• COVID-19

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	AI-driven Vaccine Communicator	The intervention will include five modules web-based psychoeducation programme (two module sessions weekly, each module lasts for 15-20 minutes) and interact with an MI communication skills-based AI, digital assistant.
BEHAVIORAL	Self-learning of COVID-19 vaccine knowledge	Participants in the control group will be given HK government websites in COVID-19 vaccine and invite to join the online examination in relation to Covid-19 vaccine knowledge (using multiple choices questions similar to the intervention group), and this is to ensure that participants from the control group also use time to search relevant information of covid-19 vaccines, also this is to control the time effects.

Timeline

• Start date: 2022-10-01
• Primary completion: 2024-06-01
• Completion: 2024-06-01
• First posted: 2022-09-07
• Last updated: 2025-03-11

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Hong Kong