Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 23, 2025

Methodology for Establishing a Community-Wide Life Laboratory for Capturing Unobtrusive and Continuous Remote Activity and Health Data
Published on: July 27, 2018
Automated vs. Human Health Coaching: Exploring Participant and Practitioner Experiences
Elliot G Mitchell1, Rosa Maimone2, Andrea Cassells3
1Columbia University, Department of Biomedical Informatics, USA.
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.
Related Concept Videos
Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention I
The health belief model (HBM) attempts to predict health-related behavior in specific belief patterns. According to the HBM, a person's...
Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention II
The agent-host-environment model states that disease results...
Humanistic Psychology
This approach...
Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques VI
Motivation and Self-Determination
Motivation, the driving force behind behavior, plays a pivotal role at every stage of the change process. The research...
Humanistic Therapy
Levels of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention
In primary prevention, actions taken before disease onset prevent the disease from...

