Trustworthy Embodied Conversational Agents for Healthcare

A Design Exploration of Embodied Conversational Agents for the periconception period at Erasmus MC

Conference paper (2023)

Authors

M.L. Lupetti Design Aesthetics - IDE
E.M.A. Hagens Design Aesthetics - IDE
W.L.A. van der Maden Design Aesthetics - IDE
Melek Rousian Erasmus MC
Research Group
Design Aesthetics (IDE) (TU Delft)
Copyright: © 2023 M.L. Lupetti, E.M.A. Hagens, W.L.A. van der Maden, Régine Steegers-Theunissen, Melek Rousian
DOI
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https://doi.org/10.1145/3571884.3597128
Healthcare Trustworthiness Research through design Conversational style Embodied conversational agents
More Info
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Published Date

2023

Language

English

Faculty

Industrial Design Engineering

Department

Human-Centered Design

Research Group

Design Aesthetics

Abstract

This paper explores the potential implications of embodied conversational agents (ECAs) in healthcare, focusing on the impact of appearance and conversation style on trustworthiness. We conducted a Research through Design investigation of ECAs for supporting women during the periconception period and in pregnancy. The paper presents the results of a Wizard of Oz study in which two alternative prototypes, a chatbot, and an ECA, were tested in a tertiary hospital by 25 participants. Reflecting on the results we suggest that limited patients' trust in ECAs maybe be beneficial for achieving trustworthy use of these agents in the healthcare context.