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Voice-Based Conversational Agents for the Prevention and Management of Chronic and Mental Health Conditions: Systematic Literature Review
Bérubé C, Schachner T, Keller R, Fleisch E, V Wangenheim F, Barata F, Kowatsch T.. Journal of medical Internet research, 2021-03-29
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Results Of 7170 prescreened papers, 12 met the inclusion criteria. Although the results of system accuracy and technology acceptance are encouraging, there is still a need to establish more conclusive evidence on the efficacy of VCAs for the prevention and management of chronic and mental health conditions, both in absolute terms and in comparison with standard health care.
Key findings
- Results Of 7170 prescreened papers, 12 met the inclusion criteria.
- Although the results of system accuracy and technology acceptance are encouraging, there is still a need to establish more conclusive evidence on the efficacy of VCAs for the prevention and management of chronic and mental health conditions, both in absolute terms and in comparison with standard health care.
Why it matters
This review of 12 papers found that voice-based conversational agents show encouraging accuracy and acceptance, but there is still a need for more conclusive evidence on their effectiveness for preventing and managing chronic and mental health conditions. It is about a technology for health management and does not provide evidence on treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 59/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a systematic review of all the studies on the question. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported and studied in people because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of medical Internet research) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Journal of Medical Internet Research: journal h-index 286 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 12 / 12 | A systematic review of all the studies on the question (from PubMed type “Systematic Review”) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2021 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 133 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 19.0 citations a year over 7 year(s) since 2021 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 3.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 88 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Tobias Kowatsch: h-index 42 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | ETH Zurich: institution h-index 1,286 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 33658174) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 59 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.2196/25933
- PubMed: 33658174
- Original source →
- Free full text: Journal of Medical Internet Research →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 7 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Bérubé, C., Schachner, T., Keller, R., Fleisch, E., V Wangenheim, F., Barata, F., et al. (2021). Voice-Based Conversational Agents for the Prevention and Management of Chronic and Mental Health Conditions: Systematic Literature Review. Journal of medical Internet research. https://doi.org/10.2196/25933
Vancouver
Bérubé C, Schachner T, Keller R, Fleisch E, V Wangenheim F, Barata F, et al. Voice-Based Conversational Agents for the Prevention and Management of Chronic and Mental Health Conditions: Systematic Literature Review. Journal of medical Internet research. 2021. doi:10.2196/25933. PMID: 33658174.
BibTeX
@article{berube2021-33658174,
author = {Bérubé, C. and Schachner, T. and Keller, R. and Fleisch, E. and V Wangenheim, F. and Barata, F. and Kowatsch, T.},
title = {{Voice-Based Conversational Agents for the Prevention and Management of Chronic and Mental Health Conditions: Systematic Literature Review}},
journal = {Journal of medical Internet research},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.2196/25933},
pmid = {33658174},
url = {https://doi.org/10.2196/25933}
}