A comparative study of speech in the call center

Suhm, Bernhard; Bers, Josh; McCarthy, Dan; Freeman, Barbara; Getty, David J.; Godfrey, Katherine; Peterson, Pat

doi:10.1145/503425.503427

Cited by 3 publications

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“… 7 In more recent studies, software for voice recognition has been applied that might further enhance the acceptability 8 and the effectiveness of the IVR. 9 10 Participants can either interact in real time with the IVR system or receive and make IVR calls.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactive voice response interventions targeting behaviour change: a systematic literature review with meta-analysis and meta-regression

2018

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ObjectiveA number of promising automated behaviour change interventions have been developed using advanced phone technology. This paper reviewed the effectiveness of interactive voice response (IVR)-based interventions designed to promote changes in specific health behaviours.MethodsA systematic literature review of papers published between January 1990 and September 2017 in MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, SCOPUS and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) was conducted. From the total of 2546 papers identified, 15 randomised control trials (RCTs) met the eligibility criteria and were included in a random effects meta-analysis. Meta-regression analysis was used to explore whether behaviour change techniques (BCTs) that were used in the interventions were associated with intervention effectiveness.ResultsMeta-analysis of 15 RCTs showed that IVR-based interventions had small but significant effects on promoting medication adherence (OR=1.527, 95% CI 1.207 to 1.932, k=9, p=0.000) and physical activity (Hedges’ g=0.254, 95% CI 0.068 to 0.439, k=3, p=0.007). No effects were found for alcohol (Hedges’ g=−0.077, 95% CI −0.162 to 0.007, k=4, p=0.073) or diet (Hedges’ g=0.130, 95% CI −0.088 to 0.347, k=2, p=0.242). In the medication adherence studies, multivariable meta-regression including six BCTs explained 100% of the observed variance in effect size, but only the BCT ‘information about health consequences’ was significantly associated with effect size (β=0.690, SE=0.199, 95% CI 0.29 to 1.08, p=0.000).ConclusionIVR-based interventions appear promising in changing specific health behaviours, such as medication adherence and physical activity. However, more studies are needed to elucidate further the combination of active components of IVR interventions that make them effective and test their feasibility and effectiveness using robust designs and objective outcome measures.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactive voice response interventions targeting behaviour change: a systematic literature review with meta-analysis and meta-regression

2018

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Maximizing acceptability and usefulness of an automated telephone intervention

Schneider

Waterbury

Feldstein

et al. 2011

Health Informatics J

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Objective To describe the utility of mixed method techniques to inform the development of an automated telephone intervention that seeks to improve patients’ compliance with asthma medication. Study Design Mixed methods with qualitative and quantitative components. Methods As part of intervention development for a larger randomized clinical trial, we conducted 15 focus groups (n=53) to design and develop calls, and identify factors influencing intervention acceptability and usefulness. We piloted 4 call types and interviewed 64 participants to further improve call content and receptivity to the intervention. Results The feedback obtained from this mixed methods approach directly led to several changes to the intervention scripts and eventual calls. These included immediately identifying the call source/purpose; acknowledging the call’s use of computerized technology; and personalizing relevant messages that reflect local culture. In addition, participant feedback following an initial pilot of the intervention led us to drop one of the calls. During the pilot, we reached 43% of target participants; 74% of those stayed on the call until it ended. Call computerization was not a primary reason for declining or discontinuing calls. Conclusion This inductive developmental process using mixed methods provided key insights about the acceptance and use of automated calls for a medication reminder program, and may have broader applicability for the development of automated interventions designed to help patients manage a variety of chronic conditions.

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Robust Design and Control of Call Centers with Flexible Interactive Voice Response Systems

Tezcan

Behzad

2012

M&SOM

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W e consider the robust design and control of call center systems with flexible interactive voice response (IVR) systems. In a typical call center equipped with an IVR system, customers are handled first by the IVR system, which is a computerized system that often enables customers to self-serve. Those customers whose service cannot be handled by the IVR system are sent to the second stage to be served by agents. To address the design of a call center with a flexible IVR system, we consider a call center whose IVR system can operate in two different service delivery modes that have statistically different outcomes. We formulate a stochastic program to determine the number of agents needed in the second stage as well as the proportion of customers that should be selected for each IVR service mode under different demand levels with the objective of minimizing the total staffing and abandonment costs. We also propose dynamic control policies to achieve the optimal proportions without the knowledge of the exact arrival rate. We show that the staffing levels found by the stochastic program combined with the proposed routing policies are asymptotically optimal in large systems. We present extensive numerical and simulation results to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed solutions.

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A comparative study of speech in the call center

Cited by 3 publications

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Interactive voice response interventions targeting behaviour change: a systematic literature review with meta-analysis and meta-regression

Interactive voice response interventions targeting behaviour change: a systematic literature review with meta-analysis and meta-regression

Maximizing acceptability and usefulness of an automated telephone intervention

Robust Design and Control of Call Centers with Flexible Interactive Voice Response Systems

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