COVID-19 Vaccine Equity and Access: Case Study for Health Care Chatbots

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Informatics
• Digital Health

Background:

• Significant disparities in COVID-19 information and vaccine access disproportionately affect historically excluded communities.
• Politicization of COVID-19 has fueled misinformation, exacerbating challenges in accessing healthcare, testing, and protective measures.
• Information and Communication Technology (ICT) offers a solution to bridge educational and access gaps in marginalized communities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and test an inclusive, theoretically driven, bilingual (English/Spanish) COVID-19 information chatbot named 'Ana'.
• To characterize and evaluate user experiences with this novel ICT tool.

Main Methods:

• Developed 'Ana' chatbot using a multitheoretical framework with a multidisciplinary team including public health experts, behavioral scientists, and community members.
• Conducted 7 iterations of testing with 22 beta testers, curating content based on community concerns and expert knowledge.
• Employed an evaluation framework to assess reach, engagement, and user satisfaction.

Main Results:

• 626 community members utilized 'Ana' between August 2021 and March 2022, with substantial usage in both English (346 users) and Spanish (280 users).
• High user retention observed, with over 63% of English users and 22% of Spanish users returning.
• Positive user experiences and rankings were significantly higher across both language platforms compared to negative experiences.

Conclusions:

• This pilot project successfully demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of an innovative ICT chatbot for disseminating COVID-19 information.
• The bilingual chatbot 'Ana' provided an equitable approach to combatting the lack of accessible, reliable COVID-19 information in diverse communities.
• ICT solutions like chatbots are crucial for addressing health information disparities and promoting public health equity.