Perfect Fit - Learning when to involve a human coach in an eHealth application for preparing for quitting smoking or vaping ...

The aim of this study is to learn when to involve a human coach in an eHealth application for preparing for quitting smoking or vaping. To this end, we conduct an online crowdsourcing study in which daily smokers/vapers interact with a text-based virtual coach (i.e., a chatbot) in five conversational sessions. In each session, the virtual coach first asks participants about their self-efficacy for and importance of preparing for quitting smoking/vaping, their view of receiving feedback from a human coach, and their energy. The virtual coach then proposes a new preparatory activity for quitting smoking/vaping or becoming more physically active (e.g., envisioning one's desired future self). In the next session, participants are asked about the effort spent on their activity, their experience with it, and how likely they would have returned to the session if the study was an unpaid smoking/vaping cessation program. Between sessions, participants sometimes receive a feedback message from a human coach. The ...