RETRACTED ARTICLE: Effects of artificial intelligence aibo intervention on alleviating distress and fear in children

Abstract

Background Procedures and actions such as injections and immobilization cause distress to children. In the pediatric field, there is a need for interventions and support to alleviate the pain and distress caused by such medical procedures. In recent years, the introduction of robots as a means of distraction has begun to be attempted. Methods In this study, we conducted a non-randomized controlled trial to examine the effect of intervention using ‘aibo’, a dog-like robot which has artificial intelligence (AI), to promote distraction in children after vaccination. Children between the ages of 3 and 12 years old eligible for the Japanese encephalitis vaccine, and their caregivers were assigned to intervention group or control group. Then, children evaluated their pain and children’s behavior were observed by observer. The mean values of Faces pain rating scale scores and observer pain scale scores were compared between groups using an unpaired t-test. Results Fifty-seven children (32 in the intervention group) participated in the study. Results of a t-test with the control group showed that the intervention group using aibo had significantly less pain following the post-vaccination intervention than the control group using stuffed dog (Face Scale, t(55) = 2.582, p = .0125; Behavioral Observation Scale, t(55) = 2.772, p = .00759). The results support the hypothesis that the aibo intervention group will be less distressed and able to calm down more quickly after vaccination than the control group. Conclusion Interactive communicative play intervention by an artificially intelligent aibo before and after painful and frightening medical procedures may alleviate fear and anxiety and prevent medical trauma in children.

Use of automated conversational agents in improving young population mental health: a scoping review

“…Of the 25 studies, 19 were recently published (between 2020 and 2023) 8 – 10 , 12 , 26 – 40 . Studies were conducted predominantly in the US ( n = 12) 11 , 12 , 27 , 28 , 33 , 34 , 38 , 41 – 45 , followed by Europe ( n = 5) 10 , 26 , 29 , 32 , 35 , Asia ( n = 4) 9 , 31 , 36 , 39 , New Zealand ( n = 2) 37 , 40 , and Australia ( n = 1) 30 .…”

“…Only 3 of the CA were the focus of more than one study – Paro 11 , 41 , 45 , Nao 8 , 38 , and Woebot 12 , 42 . These automated CAs were predominantly disembodied chatbots ( n = 15) 10 , 26 , 28 – 32 , 35 – 37 , 40 , 42 – 44 , followed by robots ( n = 7) 8 , 9 , 33 , 34 , 38 , 41 , 45 . Automated CAs with a virtual representation were the focus in 2 studies 11 , 27 .…”

“…Regarding the dialog system underlying the process of conversation, almost half of automated CAs ( n = 12) employed natural language processing and machine learning to carry on an interaction 8 , 9 , 12 , 27 , 30 , 31 , 34 , 38 , 39 , 41 , 43 , 45 . Predefined dialog or interactions assembled, and matched to the user input in a dynamic manner was used in 10 studies 10 , 11 , 26 , 28 , 29 , 32 , 33 , 35 , 40 , 44 , while 3 used a mixed dialog system 36 , 37 , 42 .…”

“…Predefined dialog or interactions assembled, and matched to the user input in a dynamic manner was used in 10 studies 10 , 11 , 26 , 28 , 29 , 32 , 33 , 35 , 40 , 44 , while 3 used a mixed dialog system 36 , 37 , 42 . These agents communicated through text ( n = 13) 10 , 12 , 26 , 28 – 30 , 32 , 35 , 37 , 40 , 42 – 44 , speech ( n = 2) 8 , 38 , and non-verbal cues ( n = 4) 9 , 34 , 41 , 45 , while multiple modalities communication was employed by 5 studies 11 , 31 , 33 , 36 , 39 . For one study no information was provided on modality of communication 27 .…”

“…In recent years, a growing body of research has been interested in developing and testing the efficacy of fully automated CAs for addressing mental health problems in a variety of settings with youths. In the healthcare setting, automated CAs are used to tackle distress related to medical procedures among youths, such as vaccination or cancer treatments 8 , 9 . In an educational context, they have been employed as a tool to reduce problems such as general distress or performance anxiety 10 , 11 .…”