NCT06208566

A Bot-based Self-help Program (WELL)

A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Bot-based Self-help Program (WELL)

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 1,595 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Klagenfurt · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

In the current project, the effectiveness of a new bot-based universal prevention program aimed at improving well-being will be developed and tested. This prevention program includes a variety of modules that target common areas related to well-being including interpersonal relationships, emotional regulation, beliefs and behaviors, problem-solving, sleep hygiene, goal setting, personal growth, and healthy habits.

Detailed description

The purpose of the data collection is to evaluate a new intervention as part of a research study. In the current project, a new bot-based universal prevention program aimed at improving well-being will be developed and tested. This prevention program includes a variety of modules that target common areas related to well-being including interpersonal relationships, emotional regulation, beliefs and behaviors, problem-solving, sleep hygiene, goal setting, personal growth, and healthy habits. The intervention modules are based on existing empirically supported intervention techniques from traditional cognitive-behavioral therapies and other third generation therapies such as mindfulness training and dialectical behavioral therapy. The focus of the program is to introduce psychological concepts that have been shown to be effective for managing emotions and problems to a broader public audience. Another focus is on helping individuals connect with resources that are available related to subjective well-being. Often individuals who may be interested in self-help interventions do not know where to seek help and interventions that they may find (e.g., apps), may not be scientifically valid. By providing recommendations on resources that are specific to an individual's needs, this may reduce one barrier to care. The focus of this project is not only on testing the effectiveness of the program on well-being compared to an online control condition in a randomized controlled trial, but on improving REACH to individuals who may benefit from such an intervention. Thus, the focus is on brief, low burden assessments, rather than a full battery typical in psychological studies, to improve acceptability, recruitment rates, and retention rates. The implementation science model, RE-AIM, will be used as a framework for this study (http://www.re-aim.org/). H1: The intervention group will evidence significant improvements in well-being at the post-assessment and follow-up assessments (1-month, 6- month, 12-month) compared to the control group. H2: The effectiveness of the intervention will be similar across gender and age after controlling for participation/engagement and user satisfaction. H3: The intervention group will have significantly higher psychological growth compared to the control group at post-assessment and follow-ups assessments (1-month, 6- month, 12-month). H4: The intervention group will have higher response rates, higher retention rates, and more self-reported active participation/engagement than the control group. H5: Higher user satisfaction and more active participation/engagement will be associated with greater improvements in well-being. H6: Higher user satisfaction will lead to subsequent increases in participation/engagement over time.

Conditions

• Well-Being, Psychological

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Conversational Agent Zenny	The intervention group involves a newly developed conversational agent self-care program. This program consists of 40 separate modules based on empirically supported techniques. Modules include the following core sections: cognitive behavioral skills, interpersonal relationships, positive psychological growth, relaxation, goal setting, and emotional regulation skills. The modules focus on cognitive-behavioral skills for reducing emotional distress, improving behavioral activation and healthy behaviors, and problem-solving skills. The intervention was delivered via a decision-tree based conversational agent in WhatsApp messenger.
BEHAVIORAL	Web-based Wellness Resources	The control group involved referral to a menu of freely-available evidence-based wellness resources linked from the study website, "Your Healthiest Self: Wellness Toolkits", "Doing What Matters in Times of Stress", and "How Right Now". These website choices involved self-selection of relevant modules for improving mood, reducing stress and anxiety, addressing relationship problems, and other wellness topics. These programs required only access to the websites and could be completed in a self-help format by participants at their own pace.

Timeline

• Start date: 2022-07-04
• Primary completion: 2024-03-20
• Completion: 2024-03-20
• First posted: 2024-01-17
• Last updated: 2024-05-16

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States