Identifying Opportunities for Informatics-Supported Cultural Adaptation of Mental Health Chatbot: Chinese American Caregivers’ Perspectives on Self-Care and Chatbots

Presentation Time: 11:45 AM - 12:00 PM

Abstract Keywords: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Health Equity, Patient Engagement and Preferences, Health Equity, Qualitative Methods, Mobile Health, Nursing Informatics, Natural Language Processing, Large Language Models (LLMs)
Primary Track: Applications
Programmatic Theme: Consumer Health Informatics

Providing care to a loved one can be physically, financially, and emotionally stressful and chatbots have the potential to provide affordable and accessible mental health care to family caregivers. In accordance with the 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers, which called for the development of culturally and linguistically appropriate services, this study explores the perspectives of Chinese American caregivers on self-care and using chatbots to support their mental health and well-being, with consideration of specific cultural challenges. We conducted interviews with 12 family caregivers and 21 community organization staff members, uncovering four themes regarding self-care perspectives and three themes about chatbot utilization for mental health support. Key findings suggest caregivers’ self-care practices are influenced by cultural values of self-restraint, with a general undervaluation of psychological aspect of self-care. While chatbots are recognized for being non-judgmental and potential to reduce stigma, their effectiveness may be compromised by their limitations in empathy and cultural sensitivity. Informed by the findings, this research identifies opportunities for informatics-supported strategies to culturally adapt mental health chatbots, combining Natural Language Processing (NLP) with human expertise to improve scalability and cultural relevance. For example, integrating community-derived psychoeducation materials and cultural sayings into chatbot interactions. The study indicates both potential and challenges of employing chatbots in providing culturally sensitive mental health support for Chinese American caregivers, and advocates for informatics-supported approaches to incorporate cultural nuances effectively and improve the accessibility and relevance of mental health support for diverse communities.

Speaker(s):
Serena Jinchen Xie, Masters
Biomedical Informatics and Medical Education, University of Washington

Author(s):
Serena Jinchen Xie, Masters - Biomedical Informatics and Medical Education, University of Washington; Yanjing Liang, MS - University of Washington; Jingyi Li, PhD, RN - University of Washington, Tacoma; Trevor Cohen, MBChB, PhD - Biomedical Informatics and Medical Education, University of Washington; Andrea Hartzler, PhD - University of Washington; Weichao Yuwen, PhD, RN - University of Washington Tacoma;