Conversational Agents for Chronic Disease Self-Management: A Systematic Review

We conducted a systematic literature review to assess how conversational agents have been used to facilitate chronic disease self-management. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework was used. Literature was searched across five databases, and we included full-text articles that contained primary research findings for text-based conversational agents focused on self-management for chronic diseases in adults. 1,606 studies were identified, and 12 met inclusion criteria. Outcomes were largely focused on usability of conversational agents, and participants mostly reported positive attitudes with some concerns related to privacy and shallow content. In several studies, there were improvements on the Patient Health Questionnaire (p<0.05), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (p=0.004), Perceived Stress Scale (p=0.048), Flourishing Scale (p=0.032), and Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale (p<0.05). There is early evidence that suggests conversational agents are acceptable, usable, and may be effective in supporting self-management, particularly for mental health.