A Personalized, Texting-Based Conversational Agent to Address Sleep Disturbance in Individuals Who Have Survived...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Sleep Medicine
• Digital Health

Background:

• Sleep disturbance is a common issue for breast cancer survivors, impacting quality of life and mortality.
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBTi) is effective but faces adherence challenges in digital formats.
• A novel conversational agent (CA) named Cecebot delivers CBTi via SMS, incorporating physical activity support.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the safety and acceptability of the Cecebot intervention for breast cancer survivors with insomnia.
• To explore the efficacy of Cecebot in improving sleep and related outcomes.
• To assess the feasibility of a digital CBTi and physical activity intervention.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial recruiting 60 breast cancer survivors with moderate to severe sleep disturbance.
• Participants are assigned to the Cecebot intervention or a waitlist control group (1:1 ratio).
• Intervention delivered via SMS text messaging and Fitbit over 6 weeks, with assessments at baseline, week 6, and week 12.

Main Results:

• Participant recruitment commenced in Fall 2024.
• Data collection is projected to conclude by Fall 2025.
• Quantitative analyses will include t-tests, Fisher exact tests, and generalized linear models.

Conclusions:

• The study will provide insights into the effectiveness of an SMS-based conversational agent for improving sleep in breast cancer survivors.
• Findings will inform the potential of digital CBTi interventions for this population.
• The research aims to enhance adherence and accessibility of insomnia treatment.