NCT06070402

Use of a Voice Assistant to Improve Mental Health in Older People

Use of a Voice Assistant (DIAL) to Improve Unwanted Loneliness, Mental Health, and Quality of Life in Older People: a Randomized Controlled Trial

• Status: Unknown
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 80 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University of Valencia · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The main objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of DIAL (an innovative and user-friendly solution based on Multiplatform Voice Assistive Technologies) in reducing unwanted loneliness and increasing the mental health and the quality of life in individuals over 65 years old. Additionally, a secondary objective is to evaluate the experience of using the system, including aspects of usability and satisfaction, and to analyze whether the functionalities provided by DIAL contribute to the improvement of various dimensions in the lives of the elderly. It is hypothesized that DIAL will reduce unwanted loneliness and improve mental health in older people. In addition, we aim to obtain positive ratings in terms of usability and satisfaction with DIAL, along with the verification that most of the functionalities provided by DIAL will be useful to older people.

Detailed description

The main objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of DIAL in reducing unwanted loneliness and increasing the mental health and the quality of life of elderly people. Additionally, a secondary objective is to evaluate the experience of using the system, including aspects of usability and satisfaction, and to analyze whether the functionalities provided by DIAL contribute to the improvement of various dimensions in the lives of the elderly. For this purposes, a randomized controlled trial with a control group and an experimental group will be conducted in Valencia at the end of 2023. Participants in the experimental group will use DIAL for four weeks. All participants will complete different measures of mental health and quality of life, as well as measures related to the experience of using DIAL. Mixed ANOVA tests will be used to determine if there were statistically significant differences between the different measures evaluated. An alpha of 0.05 will be taken as the confidence level. In addition, a descriptive study will be conducted on the variables related to the DIAL user experience. It is hypothesized that DIAL will reduce unwanted loneliness and improve mental health in older people. In addition, we aim to obtain positive ratings in terms of usability and satisfaction with DIAL, along with the verification that most of the functionalities provided by DIAL will be useful to older people.

Conditions

• Depression
• Loneliness
• Anxiety
• Quality of Life

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	DIAL, a voice-controlled virtual assistant	Participants in the experimental group will test in their homes a device called DIAL, a voice-controlled virtual assistant designed to communicate with the elderly and help them in different contexts. They will use it for four weeks. They will receive an individual training session on how to use the device, an instruction sheet for its use and, in addition, they will receive telephone technical support throughout the study. Finally, the device will be uninstalled and all participants will be called back to answer the same survey they answered before the intervention.

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-10-15
• Primary completion: 2023-11-15
• Completion: 2023-11-15
• First posted: 2023-10-06
• Last updated: 2023-10-06