Li Jiaying, Li Yan, Hu Yule, Ma Dennis Chak Fai, Mei Xiaoxiao, Chan Engle Angela, Yorke Janelle
School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong.
Worldviews Evid Based Nurs. 2025 Aug;22(4):e70059. doi: 10.1111/wvn.70059.
The characteristics, application, and effectiveness of chatbots in improving the mental health of young people have yet to be confirmed through systematic review and meta-analysis.
This systematic review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of chatbot-delivered interventions for improving mental health among young people, identify factors influencing effectiveness, and examine feasibility and acceptability.
To identify eligible interventional studies, we systematically searched 11 databases and search engines covering a publication period of January 2014 to September 2024. Meta-analyses and subgroup analyses were performed on randomized controlled trials to investigate the effectiveness of chatbot-delivered interventions and potential influencing factors. Narrative syntheses were conducted to summarize the feasibility and acceptability of these interventions in all the included studies.
We identified 29 eligible interventional studies, 13 of which were randomized controlled trials. The meta-analysis indicated that chatbot-delivered interventions significantly reduced distress (Hedge's g = -0.28, 95% CI [-0.46, -0.10]), but did not have a significant effect on psychological well-being (Hedge's g = 0.13, 95% CI [-0.16, 0.41]). The observed treatment effects were influenced by factors including sample type, delivery platform, interaction mode, and response generation approach. Overall, this review demonstrates that chatbot-delivered interventions were feasible and acceptable.
This review demonstrated that chatbot-delivered interventions had positive effects on psychological distress among young people. Chatbot-delivered interventions have the potential to supplement existing mental health services provided by multidisciplinary healthcare professionals. Future recommendations include using instant messenger platforms for delivery, enhancing chatbots with multiple communication methods to improve interaction quality, and refining language processing, accuracy, privacy, and security measures.
聊天机器人在改善年轻人心理健康方面的特点、应用及效果尚未通过系统评价和荟萃分析得到证实。
本系统评价旨在评估聊天机器人提供的干预措施对改善年轻人心理健康的效果，确定影响效果的因素，并考察其可行性和可接受性。
为识别符合条件的干预性研究，我们系统检索了11个数据库和搜索引擎，检索时间段为2014年1月至2024年9月。对随机对照试验进行荟萃分析和亚组分析，以研究聊天机器人提供的干预措施的效果及潜在影响因素。进行叙述性综合分析，以总结所有纳入研究中这些干预措施的可行性和可接受性。
我们识别出29项符合条件的干预性研究，其中13项为随机对照试验。荟萃分析表明，聊天机器人提供的干预措施显著降低了痛苦（Hedge's g = -0.28，95% CI [-0.46, -0.10]），但对心理健康没有显著影响（Hedge's g = 0.13，95% CI [-0.16, 0.41]）。观察到的治疗效果受到样本类型、交付平台、交互模式和回复生成方法等因素的影响。总体而言，本评价表明聊天机器人提供的干预措施是可行且可接受的。
本评价表明，聊天机器人提供的干预措施对年轻人的心理痛苦有积极影响。聊天机器人提供的干预措施有可能补充多学科医疗保健专业人员提供的现有心理健康服务。未来的建议包括使用即时通讯平台进行交付，通过多种沟通方式增强聊天机器人以提高交互质量，以及完善语言处理、准确性、隐私和安全措施。
