In addition to supporting those with mental ill health, digital technologies are also considered to have potential for preventing mental health problems and for improving the overall mental health of the population (Calvo et al., 2018). However, chatbots bring other potential benefits to supporting mental wellbeing which are widely recognised by practitioners and clients (Benavides-Vaello et al., 2013 Palanica et al., 2019 Provoost et al., 2017 Vaidyam et al., 2019). They can also be used to promote help-seeking (Hoermann et al., 2017). Chatbots may be geared towards a variety of outcomes such as medication adherence, treatment compliance, aftercare support, delivery of appointment reminders, user empowerment and improvement in the self-management of mental health and wellbeing through monitoring mood or symptom change (Hoermann et al., 2017). They are becoming increasingly popular as digital mental health and wellbeing interventions, with initial evaluations of efficacy showing promise (Hoermann et al., 2017 Provoost et al., 2017 Vaidyam et al., 2019). Chatbots, also known as conversational user interfaces, are a type of technology that can take diverse roles in supporting mental health. Responsible design of mental healthcare chatbots should consider what users want or need, but also what chatbot features artificial intelligence can competently facilitate and which features mental health professionals would endorse.Īn emerging area of importance is the investigation of how digital technology can support rural mental health care (Benavides-Vaello et al., 2013). Overall, the workshop participants identified user needs which can be transformed into chatbot requirements. Content within the chatbot could include validated mental health scales and appropriate response triggers, such as signposting to external resources should the user disclose potentially harmful information or suicidal intent. Gamification could be used within the chatbot to increase user engagement and retention. The findings revealed that participants wanted a positive chatbot that was able to listen, support, inform and build a rapport with users. University students and staff, mental health professionals and mental health service users ( N = 78 total) were recruited to workshops across Northern Ireland, Ireland, Scotland, Finland and Sweden. The aim of this study was to establish if user groups can design content for a chatbot to support the mental wellbeing of individuals in rural areas. In particular, chatbots can be used to support citizens living in sparsely populated areas who face problems such as poor access to mental health services, lack of 24/7 support, barriers to engagement, lack of age appropriate support and reductions in health budgets. Digital technologies such as chatbots can be used in the field of mental health.
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