Mental health resources available via websites and mobile apps provide support such as advice, journaling, and elements from cognitive behavioral therapy. The proliferation of spoken conversational agents, such as Alexa, Siri, and Google Home, has led to an increasing interest in developing mental health apps for these devices. We present the pilot study outcomes of an Alexa Skill that allows users to conduct depression and anxiety self-tests. Ten participants were given access to the Alexa Skill for two-weeks, followed by an online evaluation of the Skill's usability and trust. Our preliminary evaluation suggests that participants trusted the Skill and scored the usability and user experience as average. Usage of the Skill was low, with most participants using the Skill only once. In view of work-in-progress, we also present a discussion of implementation and study design challenges to guide the current literature on designing spoken conversational agents for mental health applications.
翻译:通过网站和移动应用程序提供的心理健康资源通过网站和移动应用程序提供支持,如咨询、日记和认知行为疗法的要素。诸如Alexa、Siri和Google Home等口述谈话媒介的激增,导致人们越来越有兴趣为这些装置开发心理健康应用软件。我们介绍了Alexa Skill的试点研究成果,允许用户进行抑郁症和焦虑自测。10名参与者被允许使用Alexa Skill,为期两周,随后在线评估Skill的可用性和信任度。我们的初步评估表明,参与者信任Skill,并取得了平均的可用性和用户经验。Skill的使用率很低,大多数参与者只使用过一次Skill。考虑到正在进行的工作,我们还提出了实施和研究挑战,以指导当前关于设计用于心理健康应用的口述媒介的文献。