The role of chatbots in enhancing health care for older adults : a scoping review

Abstract

Objectives: This scoping review aimed to review the characteristics, applications, evaluation approaches, and challenges regarding the use of chatbots in older adults. Design: The scoping review followed the methodological framework by Arksey and O'Malley, with revisions proposed by Levac et al. The findings were reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Extension for Scoping Reviews checklist. Setting and Participants: The reviewed articles primarily focused on older adults, with research conducted in both clinical and nonclinical settings. Methods: Studies published from January 2010 to May 2023 were searched through 8 databases. A total of 29 studies were identified and evaluated in this review. Results: Results showed that the chatbots were mainly delivered via mobile applications (n = 11), most of them used text as input (n = 16) and output modality (n = 13), and most of them targeted at improving the overall well-being of the older adults (n = 9); most chatbots were designed for fulfilling complex health care needs (n = 7) and health information collection (n = 6). Evaluation approaches of chatbots captured in this review were divided into technical performance, user acceptability, and effectiveness; challenges of applying chatbots to older adults lie in the design of the chatbot, user perception, and operational difficulties. Conclusions and Implications: The use of chatbots in the field of older adults is still emerging, with a lack of specifically designed options for older users. Data about the health impact of chatbots as alternative interventions were still limited. More standardized evaluation criteria and robust controlled experiments are needed for further research regarding the effectiveness of chatbots in older adults.