Li Yan, Chung Tsz Yu, Lu Wenze, Li Mengqi, Ho Ying Wai Bryan, He Mengting, Mei Xiaoxiao, Chen Dapeng, Bressington Daniel
Yan Li, PhD, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Tsz Yu Chung, MN, Kowloon West Cluster, Hong Kong SAR, China.
J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc. 2025 Jul-Aug;31(4):398-411. doi: 10.1177/10783903241302092. Epub 2024 Dec 20.
Depression is a growing concern among university students. Chatbots provide flexible, accessible, personalized psychosocial support. Delivering Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) sessions via chatbots may reduce depressive symptoms in university students.
This study aims to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, safety, and preliminary efficacy of a chatbot-based MBSR intervention for university students with depressive symptoms.
A rule-based MBSR chatbot was developed and evaluated with a single-group pretest-posttest study for university students in Hong Kong ( = 30) reporting depressive symptoms, followed by the collection of their subjective feedback. The intervention lasted eight weeks. The primary clinical outcome was depression levels, with a range of secondary outcomes.
The chatbot-based MBSR program demonstrated satisfying recruitment, retention, and adherence rates. The safety of the program was confirmed by the absence of any adverse events directly related to the intervention, tracked from the onset of the intervention to the completion of data assessment. Significant improvements were observed in both primary and secondary outcomes. Participant feedback highlighted the benefits of the program and its effects on depressive symptoms.
The program has shown feasibility, acceptability, safety, and preliminary efficacy in reducing depressive symptoms among 30 university students in Hong Kong. The intervention should now be evaluated in a randomized controlled trial with follow-up. This study highlights the potential role of chatbot-based interventions in mental health promotion, nursing, and clinical practice and will inform the subsequent development of innovative digital interventions to address mental health challenges faced by university students.
抑郁症在大学生中日益受到关注。聊天机器人可提供灵活、便捷、个性化的心理社会支持。通过聊天机器人提供基于正念减压疗法（MBSR）的课程可能会减轻大学生的抑郁症状。
本研究旨在评估基于聊天机器人的MBSR干预对有抑郁症状大学生的可行性、可接受性、安全性和初步疗效。
开发了一个基于规则的MBSR聊天机器人，并对香港30名报告有抑郁症状的大学生进行单组前测-后测研究以进行评估，随后收集他们的主观反馈。干预持续八周。主要临床结局是抑郁水平，还有一系列次要结局。
基于聊天机器人的MBSR项目显示出令人满意的招募、留存和依从率。从干预开始到数据评估完成，追踪未发现与干预直接相关的任何不良事件，证实了该项目的安全性。在主要和次要结局方面均观察到显著改善。参与者反馈突出了该项目的益处及其对抑郁症状的影响。
该项目在减轻香港30名大学生的抑郁症状方面已显示出可行性、可接受性、安全性和初步疗效。现在应在有随访的随机对照试验中对该干预进行评估。本研究突出了基于聊天机器人的干预在心理健康促进、护理和临床实践中的潜在作用，并将为后续开发创新数字干预措施以应对大学生面临的心理健康挑战提供参考。
