Development and Test of a Chatbot to Identify Depression

Abstract

Purposeto develop and test a prototype of Chatbot with the purpose of applying a questionnaire to assess depression in visually impaired individuals.MethodsThis project was carried out in the Federal University of São Paulo. The Chatbot was developed using the platform BLiP®. The social-demography questionnaire and the Center for Epidemiological Scale – Depression (CES-D) were selected to collect the essential data and to identify the presence of depression, respectively. After the development, validation tests were applied to verify the functionality and structure of the chatbot.ResultsThe Chatbot prototype presented an excellent flow of conversation in the tests conducted. The questionnaires were applied in a satisfactory manner during the tests. Software validation tests approved the prototype’s function.ConclusionsThe Chatbot prototype is an affordable and easy way to apply questionnaires that can be used to identify health conditions, such as the likelihood of being depressed.