Pai.ACT - An Artificial Intelligence Driven Chatbot Assisted ACT (Full Scale RCT)

Launched by CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG · Jan 12, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

The Pai.ACT trial is studying a new way to support parents of young children with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity. This trial will test an AI-driven chatbot called Pai.ACT, which aims to provide personalized mental health support to Cantonese-speaking parents. The goal is to see if using this chatbot can reduce parenting stress and help improve the emotional and behavioral symptoms of their children over a year. Researchers will compare the effectiveness of Pai.ACT to traditional positive parenting advice to find out which is better at supporting both parents and children.

To be eligible for the trial, parents must be at least 21 years old, live in Hong Kong, and care for a child aged 2 to 6 who has been diagnosed or suspected of having a neurodevelopmental disorder. Parents should also have access to a smartphone and the internet. The trial is not yet recruiting participants, but those who join can expect to use the chatbot over a 12-month period and share their feedback on its helpfulness. It's important to note that parents with severe mental illnesses or other conditions that might make it hard to participate fully will not be included in the study.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Primary caregivers who are Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong residents.
• • Parents aged ≥21 years.
• • Primary caregivers who adopt the responsibility of taking care of the child.
• • Living together with the child and having smartphone devices for daily access to the internet.
• * Parent's children should be with following criteria:
• • i) Aged 2-6 years. ii) Received a primary and clinical diagnosis/suspected diagnosis of NDD as indicated in the clinical records according to the DSM-5 criteria. (e.g., ASD, ADHD, developmental delay) iii) Registered for Social Welfare Department subvented Onsite Pre-school Rehabilitation Services.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Parents diagnosed with severe mental illnesses.
• • Parents with learning, cognitive, language, communication impairments or other debilitating conditions. (e.g., hearing or vision impairment) that could impede full participation in the study)
• • Parents currently participating in /under the evaluation of other psychosocial, psychoeducation or parenting programmes.