Chatbot as a Telehealth Intervention Strategy in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Lessons Learned from an Action Research Approach

Authors

  • Bruno Azevedo Chagas Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Departamento de Ciência da Computação
  • Kícila Ferreguetti Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Faculdade de Letras
  • Thiago C. Ferreira Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Faculdade de Letras
  • Raquel O. Prates Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Departamento de Ciência da Computação
  • Leonardo B. Ribeiro Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Faculdade de Medicina
  • Adriana S. Pagano Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Faculdade de Letras
  • Zilma S. N. Reis Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Faculdade de Medicina
  • Wagner Meira Jr. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Departamento de Ciência da Computação
  • Antonio L. Ribeiro Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Faculdade de Medicina
  • Milena S. Marcolino Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Faculdade de Medicina

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.19153/cleiej.24.3.6

Keywords:

Chatbot, Telehealth, COVID pandemic, Action Research

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and the need for social distancing have created a demand for new and innovative solutions in healthcare systems worldwide. One of the strategies that have been implemented are chatbots, which can be helpful in providing reliable health information and preventing people from seeking assistance in healthcare centers and being unnecessarily exposed to the virus. In this context, although a high number of chatbots have been implemented worldwide, little has been discussed about the process and challenges in developing and implementing this technology. This paper reports on an action research, which designed a novel chatbot as a prompt response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The chatbot is intended to be a first layer of interaction with the public, performing triage of patients and providing information about COVID-19 on a large scale and without human contact. Our contribution is twofold: (i) we reflected on the development process and discuss lessons learned and recommendations to support a multidisciplinary development and evolution process of the chatbot; and (ii) we identified some interactive and technological features that can be used as a reference framework for this kind of technology. These contributions can be useful to other researchers and multidisciplinary teams facing similar challenges.

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Published

2021-12-13

Issue

Vol. 24 No. 3 (2021): Regular papers and Special Issue For Digital Healthcare

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2021 Bruno Azevedo Chagas, Kícila Ferreguetti, Thiago C. Ferreira, Milena S. Marcolino, Leonardo B. Ribeiro, Adriana S. Pagano, Zilma S. N. Reis, Raquel O. Prates, Wagner Meira Jr., Antonio L. Ribeiro

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