Paper Info
Title
Automated vs. Human Health Coaching: Exploring Participant and Practitioner Experiences.
Abstract
Health coaching can be an effective intervention to support self-management of chronic conditions like diabetes, but there are not enough coaching practitioners to reach the growing population in need of support. Conversational technology, like chatbots, presents an opportunity to extend health coaching support to broader and more diverse populations. However, some have suggested that the human element is essential to health coaching and cannot be replicated with technology. In this research, we examine automated health coaching using a theory-grounded, wizard-of-oz chatbot, in comparison with text-based virtual coaching from human practitioners who start with the same protocol as the chatbot but have the freedom to embellish and adjust as needed. We found that even a scripted chatbot can create a coach-like experience for participants. While human coaches displayed advantages expressing empathy and using probing questions to tailor their support, they also encountered tremendous barriers and frustrations adapting to text-based virtual coaching. The chatbot coach had advantages in being persistent, as well as more consistently giving choices and options to foster client autonomy. We discuss implications for the design of virtual health coaching interventions.
Year
DOI
Venue
2021
10.1145/3449173
Proc. ACM Hum. Comput. Interact.
Keywords
DocType
Volume
Health coaching,chatbots,conversational agents,self-management,type 2 diabetes,wizard-of-oz
Conference
5
Issue
ISSN
Citations 
CSCW1
2573-0142
1
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.37
0
7
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Elliot G. Mitchell145.88
Rosa Maimone2509.07
Andrea Cassells3172.86
Jonathan N. Tobin4174.55
Patricia G. Davidson5112.28
Arlene M. Smaldone6314.43
Lena Mamykina7112498.05