Usability and satisfaction of mental health counseling service via chatbot
Keywords:
chatbot, counseling, mental health, satisfaction, usabilityAbstract
Objective: To investigate the usability and satisfaction and associated factors of satisfaction level of mental health counseling service via chatbot.
Methods: A retrospective study was conducted using the records of service users of the 1323 mental health helpline via chatbot from October to December 2022. Collected data included demographics, presenting complaints, and self-reported usability, satisfaction, challenges, and recommendations regarding the service. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, ANOVA with Scheffé’s pairwise testing, and correlation test via Pearson’s correlation coefficients.
Results: A total of 230 service users were included, 67.0% were female, 44.3% were 25 - 40 years old, and 67.4% accomplished less than a bachelor’s degree. The most presented complaint was information-seeking in mental health, accounting for 36.1%. Overall, users expressed that the chatbot had high usability and were highly satisfied with it. Female exhibited significantly higher satisfaction levels than male users. Additionally, there was a significant positive correlation between satisfaction with the chatbot and all aspects of its usability, including effectiveness, efficiency, learnability, and memorability.
Conclusion: Chatbots are promising mediums for providing clients access to mental health services. Improving the usability of chatbots can promote satisfaction with the service.
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