NCT05769231

CBT-I Chatbot for Youth

Efficacy of a Chatbot to Deliver Cognitive-behavioral Therapy for Insomnia in Youth: a Randomized Controlled Trial

• Status: Withdrawn
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 0 (actual)
• Sponsor: Chinese University of Hong Kong · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 35 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Insomnia is prevalent in youth, and it associates with depression and other psychiatric disorders, leading to increased mental health burden. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is recommended as first-line treatment for insomnia. Digital tools have been employed to automate mental health interventions, in order to address deterrents such as clinician shortage, limited appointment availability, high cost, and stigma of seeking help. Digital CBT-I is shown to be effective in treating insomnia. Future digital intervention will incorporate patient-centered design, input from key stakeholders, and new understandings of behavior change. Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered chatbots are utilized in different industries for better customer experience. AI chatbot is also utilized in the mental health industry to extend the boundary of digital interventions from accommodating didactic and informational content to providing interactive, intelligent, and most importantly, patient-centered conversational agents. Some famous AI mental health chatbots in Western societies were developed to give tailored feedback, respond to emotions that a user expresses, and encourage users to complete an intervention. This study will investigate the effect of a CBT-I chatbot on insomnia to provide further evidence on mental health chatbot.

Conditions

• Insomnia

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia in Chatbot	Digital interventions can relieve the worldwide burden of mental disorders. The low set-up costs and barriers of online platforms make digital interventions very cost-effective. By using the Internet as a delivery medium, many people can enjoy unrestricted access to self-help information. Unlike traditional face-to-face intervention, the effects of digital self-help interventions are scalable. The current study attempts to extend the boundary of digital interventions from accommodating didactic and informational content to providing interactive, intelligent, and most importantly, patient-centered conversational agents. AI chatbots can provide suitable recommendations and training materials to users according to their behavioral, mental, and motivational readiness. Since existing AI chatbots are developed for Western societies, a culture-specific Chinese chatbot will fill the research and service gaps.

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-03-06
• Primary completion: 2024-12-31
• Completion: 2025-01-31
• First posted: 2023-03-15
• Last updated: 2025-02-12