Theano: A Greek-speaking conversational agent for COVID-19

Ventoura, Nikoletta; Palios, Kosmas; Vasilakis, Yannis; Paraskevopoulos, Georgios; Katsamanis, Nassos; Katsouros, Vassilis

doi:10.18653/v1/2021.nlp4posimpact-1.5

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 25 publications

(8 reference statements)

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“…This evaluation resulted in a tailored suggestion that included connections to local resources such as the COVID-19 recommendations by the user’s province government. Ventoura et al [ 7 ] developed an empathy-driven CA named “Theano” that speaks Greek and supports both voice and chat interactions with its users. Theano provides COVID-19 data and facts to users, as well as ideal health practices and the most recent COVID-19–related guidelines.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both CAs and RAs have been used for different health care services such as screening, counseling, and caregiving [3][4][5] in diverse health care settings. Since similar health care services are essential for COVID-19 patients [6][7][8], CAs and RAs can also be used to support SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals. Moreover, they can remotely deliver essential health services [9], minimizing face-to-face interactions and preventing the transmission of infection.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Design Validation of a Relational Agent by COVID-19 Patients: Mixed Methods Study

Islam¹,

Chaudhry²

2023

JMIR Hum Factors

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Background Relational agents (RAs) have shown effectiveness in various health interventions with and without doctors and hospital facilities. In situations such as a pandemic like the COVID-19 pandemic when health care professionals (HCPs) and facilities are unable to cope with increased demands, RAs may play a major role in ameliorating the situation. However, they have not been well explored in this domain. Objective This study aimed to design a prototypical RA in collaboration with COVID-19 patients and HCPs and test it with the potential users, for its ability to deliver services during a pandemic. Methods The RA was designed and developed in collaboration with people with COVID-19 (n=21) and 2 groups of HCPs (n=19 and n=16, respectively) to aid COVID-19 patients at various stages by performing 4 main tasks: testing guidance, support during self-isolation, handling emergency situations, and promoting postrecovery mental well-being. A design validation survey was conducted with 98 individuals to evaluate the usability of the prototype using the System Usability Scale (SUS), and the participants provided feedback on the design. In addition, the RA’s usefulness and acceptability were rated by the participants using Likert scales. Results In the design validation survey, the prototypical RA received an average SUS score of 58.82. Moreover, 90% (88/98) of participants perceived it to be helpful, and 69% (68/98) of participants accepted it as a viable alternative to HCPs. The prototypical RA received favorable feedback from the participants, and they were inclined to accept it as an alternative to HCPs in non-life-threatening scenarios despite the usability rating falling below the acceptable threshold. Conclusions Based on participants’ feedback, we recommend further development of the RA with improved automation and emotional support, ability to provide information, tracking, and specific recommendations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design Validation of a Relational Agent by COVID-19 Patients: Mixed Methods Study

Islam¹,

Chaudhry²

2023

JMIR Hum Factors

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Early Usability Evaluation of a Relational Agent for the COVID-19 Pandemic

Islam

Chaudhry

2022

Adjunct Proceedings of the 35th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology

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Design Validation of a Relational Agent by COVID-19 Patients: Mixed Methods Study (Preprint)

Islam¹,

Chaudhry²

2022

Preprint

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BACKGROUND Relational agents (RAs) have shown effectiveness in various health interventions with and without doctors and hospital facilities. In situations such as a pandemic like the COVID-19 pandemic when health care professionals (HCPs) and facilities are unable to cope with increased demands, RAs may play a major role in ameliorating the situation. However, they have not been well explored in this domain. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to design a prototypical RA in collaboration with COVID-19 patients and HCPs and test it with the potential users, for its ability to deliver services during a pandemic. METHODS The RA was designed and developed in collaboration with people with COVID-19 (n=21) and 2 groups of HCPs (n=19 and n=16, respectively) to aid COVID-19 patients at various stages by performing 4 main tasks: testing guidance, support during self-isolation, handling emergency situations, and promoting postrecovery mental well-being. A design validation survey was conducted with 98 individuals to evaluate the usability of the prototype using the System Usability Scale (SUS), and the participants provided feedback on the design. In addition, the RA’s usefulness and acceptability were rated by the participants using Likert scales. RESULTS In the design validation survey, the prototypical RA received an average SUS score of 58.82. Moreover, 90% (88/98) of participants perceived it to be helpful, and 69% (68/98) of participants accepted it as a viable alternative to HCPs. The prototypical RA received favorable feedback from the participants, and they were inclined to accept it as an alternative to HCPs in non-life-threatening scenarios despite the usability rating falling below the acceptable threshold. CONCLUSIONS Based on participants’ feedback, we recommend further development of the RA with improved automation and emotional support, ability to provide information, tracking, and specific recommendations.

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Theano: A Greek-speaking conversational agent for COVID-19

Cited by 3 publications

References 25 publications

Design Validation of a Relational Agent by COVID-19 Patients: Mixed Methods Study

Design Validation of a Relational Agent by COVID-19 Patients: Mixed Methods Study

Early Usability Evaluation of a Relational Agent for the COVID-19 Pandemic

Design Validation of a Relational Agent by COVID-19 Patients: Mixed Methods Study (Preprint)

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