Antia Samuel E, Ugwu Collins N, Ghodka Vishal, Chori Babangida S, Nazir Muhammad S, Odili Chizoba A, Isiguzo Godsent C, Vasireddy Sri, Odili Augustine N
Department of Internal Medicine, Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Ebonyi, Nigeria.
REAN Foundation, Leesburg, VA.
Mayo Clin Proc Digit Health. 2025 Jun 11;3(3):100243. doi: 10.1016/j.mcpdig.2025.100243. eCollection 2025 Sep.
To evaluate the feasibility, usability, and efficacy of innovative generative pretrained transformer chatbot in improving self-care in hypertensive patients in a resource-limited setting.
A single-arm nonblinded clinical trial was deployed in a busy cardiology clinic in a low-resource setting. Artificial intelligence-enabled chatbot (Healthy Heart Assistant) was activated in smartphones of 50 adults on treatment for hypertension. Participants were trained on how to use the Healthy Heart Assistant including setting medication and appointment reminders. Baseline questionnaires were administered at enrollment and 30 days later to explore acceptability, feasibility and usability of the bot. We used chatbot usability questionnaire and self-made Healthy Heart Assistant satisfaction questionnaire to assess bot usability and patients' satisfaction, respectively. The study began on April 5, 2024, through July 15, 2024.
Of 200 hypertensive clinic attendees, 70 (35%) had internet-enabled bot-compatible cell phones, of which 50 hypertensive patients were recruited to participate in the study. Among 50 participants, 2 (4%) were lost to follow-up; 19 (39.6%) were women; and 40 (83.3%) had attained tertiary level of education. Mean time of training to use bot was 5.7 minutes, with 35 (70.8%) of participants being able to use the bot within 5 minutes. The median frequency of chats for participants within the timeframe was an average of 1.5 chats/day. Chatbot usability questionnaire score was 69.5%, whereas self-made Healthy Heart Assistant satisfaction questionnaire score was 90%.
This proof-of-concept study shows that generative artificial intelligence can be applied with reasonable success in hypertension self-care in low-resource settings and has potential for being effective.
评估创新型生成式预训练变换器聊天机器人在资源有限环境下改善高血压患者自我护理的可行性、易用性和有效性。
在资源匮乏地区一家繁忙的心脏病诊所开展了一项单臂非盲临床试验。在50名接受高血压治疗的成年人的智能手机中激活了具备人工智能的聊天机器人（健康心脏助手）。对参与者进行了如何使用健康心脏助手的培训，包括设置用药和预约提醒。在入组时和30天后发放基线问卷，以探究该聊天机器人的可接受性、可行性和易用性。我们分别使用聊天机器人易用性问卷和自制的健康心脏助手满意度问卷来评估聊天机器人的易用性和患者满意度。该研究于2024年4月5日开始，至2024年7月15日结束。
在200名高血压门诊患者中，70名（35%）拥有可联网的与聊天机器人兼容的手机，其中50名高血压患者被招募参与研究。在50名参与者中，2名（4%）失访；19名（39.6%）为女性；40名（83.3%）达到大专学历。使用聊天机器人的平均培训时间为5.7分钟，35名（70.8%）参与者能够在5分钟内使用该聊天机器人。在此时间段内，参与者聊天的中位数频率平均为每天1.5次。聊天机器人易用性问卷得分是69.5%，而自制的健康心脏助手满意度问卷得分是90%。
这项概念验证研究表明，生成式人工智能在资源有限环境下的高血压自我护理中应用可取得合理成功，且具有有效的潜力。
