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The development and use of chatbots in enhancing health care access for underserved and vulnerable populations: a
Shadi Hazhir1, Mostafa Langarizadeh2, Sajjad Bahariniya3,4
1Student Research Committee, Department of Information Management and Technology, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Hazhirshadi8@gmail.com.
Background:
Chatbots, as innovative conversational agents, leverage their widespread accessibility to enhance healthcare service delivery, and in recent years have attracted considerable attention for their capacity to serve underserved and vulnerable populations. This study aims to conduct a scoping review to examine the development and application of chatbots for these populations, highlighting their role in addressing healthcare disparities.
Methods:
This scoping review was conducted using Arksey and O'Malley's framework and reported according to PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Six databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, ProQuest, and EBSCO, were searched without time restrictions for English-language studies. Eligible articles focused on the development and/or evaluation of chatbots designed to address healthcare access barriers among underserved and vulnerable populations. Data were extracted, charted, and synthesized to identify key themes, patterns, and research gaps.
Results:
This review identified 18 studies, most of which were conducted after 2020 (n = 15) and primarily in the United States (n = 5). The main target groups included adolescents (n = 4) and women (n = 3), with a focus on domains such as mental health (n = 6) and sexual and reproductive health (n = 6). Chatbots were predominantly rule-based (n = 13) and mostly delivered via social media (n = 6)or web platforms (n = 6). Nine studies conducted evaluations, reporting outcomes such as acceptability and feasibility.
Conclusion:
Although the development and use of chatbots for underserved and vulnerable populations have grown in recent years, research in this area remains limited across countries. Chatbots, as interactive communication tools, hold notable potential to improve access to healthcare services. Based on the findings of this review, researchers can better understand the capabilities of chatbots in this context and are encouraged to conduct further studies focusing on these populations.
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