Comparing Two Coaching Systems for Improving Physical Activity of Older Adults

Similä, Heidi; Merilahti, Juho; Ylikauppila, Mari; Muuraiskangas, Salla; Perälä, Jukka; Kivikunnas, Sauli

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-00846-2_296

Cited by 5 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Out of the 20 studies, 10 (50%) were RCTs, 8 (40%) were quasi-experimental studies, and 2 (10%) were qualitative studies. PA was the sole target of intervention in half of the studies [ 12 , 13 , 32 , 35 , 37 , 38 , 41 , 43 , 45 , 46 ]. In the other half of the studies, PA was a primary target, but there were additional targets such as diet [ 33 , 34 , 36 , 39 , 44 ], fruit and vegetable consumption [ 30 , 31 , 40 ], medication adherence [ 14 ], mental well-being [ 33 , 36 ], stress management [ 33 , 34 , 36 , 44 ], and sun protection [ 42 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Promoting Physical Activity Through Conversational Agents: Mixed Methods Systematic Review

Luo¹,

Aguilera²,

Lyles³

et al. 2021

J Med Internet Res

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Background Regular physical activity (PA) is crucial for well-being; however, healthy habits are difficult to create and maintain. Interventions delivered via conversational agents (eg, chatbots or virtual agents) are a novel and potentially accessible way to promote PA. Thus, it is important to understand the evolving landscape of research that uses conversational agents. Objective This mixed methods systematic review aims to summarize the usability and effectiveness of conversational agents in promoting PA, describe common theories and intervention components used, and identify areas for further development. Methods We conducted a mixed methods systematic review. We searched seven electronic databases (PsycINFO, PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, ACM Digital Library, Scopus, and Web of Science) for quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies that conveyed primary research on automated conversational agents designed to increase PA. The studies were independently screened, and their methodological quality was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool by 2 reviewers. Data on intervention impact and effectiveness, treatment characteristics, and challenges were extracted and analyzed using parallel-results convergent synthesis and narrative summary. Results In total, 255 studies were identified, 7.8% (20) of which met our inclusion criteria. The methodological quality of the studies was varied. Overall, conversational agents had moderate usability and feasibility. Those that were evaluated through randomized controlled trials were found to be effective in promoting PA. Common challenges facing interventions were repetitive program content, high attrition, technical issues, and safety and privacy concerns. Conclusions Conversational agents hold promise for PA interventions. However, there is a lack of rigorous research on long-term intervention effectiveness and patient safety. Future interventions should be based on evidence-informed theories and treatment approaches and should address users’ desires for program variety, natural language processing, delivery via mobile devices, and safety and privacy concerns.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Promoting Physical Activity Through Conversational Agents: Mixed Methods Systematic Review

Luo¹,

Aguilera²,

Lyles³

et al. 2021

J Med Internet Res

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“…Randomized trial [2,3,11,48,55,56] Pilot study [12,13,14,21,26,31,35,39,40,43,44,45,46,47,53,54] Observational study [28,30] Preliminary studies for assessing usability or codesign choices [1,5,9,15,18,20,23,24,27,34,49] System proposal (no user study) [6,16,17,19,22,25,29,36,52] Study protocol [4,7,8,32,33,41] Field study [10,…”

Section: Type Of Study Papersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fact, among the 56 papers selected as eligible for the analysis, five reported results of randomized controlled trials [2,3,11,55,56] and one study was a clinical trial [48], six reported protocols for future randomized trials [4, 7, 8, 32, 33, 41], 16 presented results of pilot studies [12,13,14,21,26,31,35,39,40,43,44,45,46,47,53,54] and two were observational studies [28,30], while [38] presented a pre-post intervention study. Eleven presented the results of a preliminary assessment of a system in terms of usability or co-design choice [1,5,9,15,18,20,23,24,27,34,49], four [10,42,50,51] presented a field study for deriving the requirements of a coaching system, and nine presented only a proposal of a coaching system or an architectural implementation, without any user study [6,16,17,19,22,…”

Section: Type Of Study Papersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Techniques for recognizing user activities are diverse: a step counter [1,2,3,11,18,32], self-monitoring [36], goal achievement [37], weight measurement and blood pressure with weekly telephone calls by a nurse [4], motion capture [12] and more specifically a camera [27], as well as a Microsoft Kinect camera to assess the movement of the user [35,42]. In [39], Razer Hydra and a Microsoft Kinect camera were used for activity recognition, whereas in [14], Microsoft Kinect V2 camera was used to recognize and provide real time feedback on body posture of the trainee and the ideal postures that trainees should imitate.…”

Section: ) Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Different ways for the proposal of coaching activities were used: setting goals [1], feedback personalization [6,31] for negotiating new goals [2,18], via conversation with an agent and reinforcement learning methods to modify the difficulty level [42]. Data was processed manually by entering measurements and responding to questionnaires [20], or by a human coach [8,28,38].…”

Section: ) Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Virtual Coaches for Older Adults’ Wellbeing: A Systematic Review

et al. 2020

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Virtual Coaches, also known as e-coaches, are a disruptive technology in healthcare. Indeed, among other usages, they might provide cost-effective solutions for increasing human wellbeing in different domains, such as physical, nutritional, cognitive, social, and emotional. This paper presents a systematic review of virtual coaches specifically aimed at improving or maintaining older adults' health in the aforementioned domains. Such digital systems assume various forms, from classic apps, to more advanced conversational agents or robots. Fifty-six articles describing a virtual coach for older adults and aimed at improving their wellbeing were identified and further analyzed. In particular, we presented how previous studies defined their virtual coaches, which behavioral change models and techniques they adopted and the overall system architecture, in terms of monitoring solutions, processing methods and modalities for intervention delivery. Our results show that few thorough evaluations of e-coaching systems have been conducted, especially regarding multi-domain coaching approaches. Through our analysis, we identified the wellbeing domains that should be addressed in future studies as well as the most promising behavior change models and techniques and coaching interfaces. Previous work illustrates that older adults often appreciate conversational agents and robots. However, the lack of a multidomain intervention approach in the current literature motivates us to seek to define future solutions.

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