Automated vs. Human Health Coaching: Exploring Participant and Practitioner Experiences.

ABSTRACT: Health coaching can be an effective intervention to support self-management of chronic conditions like diabetes, but there are not enough coaching practitioners to reach the growing population in need of support. Conversational technology, like chatbots, presents an opportunity to extend health coaching support to broader and more diverse populations. However, some have suggested that the human element is essential to health coaching and cannot be replicated with technology. In this research, we examine automated health coaching using a theory-grounded, wizard-of-oz chatbot, in comparison with text-based virtual coaching from human practitioners who start with the same protocol as the chatbot but have the freedom to embellish and adjust as needed. We found that even a scripted chatbot can

SUBMITTER: Mitchell EG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9605038 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature