Service-user experiences of text conversations with a computer - V1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding what is helpful and unhelpful in intervention with online relational agent MYLO: An intervention process study.
IRAS ID
238389
Contact name
Hannah Gaffney
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The University of Manchester
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 1 days
Research summary
Mental health problems such as anxiety and depression are common. Services are finding it difficult to treat everyone quickly. This has led to computers being used to treat common problems.
Research has shown that around half of people who have mental health problems have more than one difficulty (e.g. low mood and worry). Many of the computer interventions available are not designed to work with more than one problem at a time. This can make them less helpful and can lead to people stopping intervention early.
A talking intervention called the Method of Levels is suitable for people with more than one problem. A new computer programme that aims to emulate this type of intervention is called Manage Your Life Online (MYLO). MYLO is accessed online. Users have conversations with MYLO by typing on their computer keyboard. MYLO aims to help people to talk freely and experience feelings related to a problem. In this way, people can find new ways of thinking about their problem. MYLO can be used as often as the person wants.
MYLO has been tested twice before with student volunteers. They said that it was helpful in solving an everyday problem. As far as we know, there isn’t any other research that has tested a programme like MYLO for people experiencing mental health problems.
Participants will be 24 adult service users recruited from Self Help Services, a participating organisation in Manchester contracted to provide primary care mental health provision for NHS patients. Participants will be given 2 weeks to use MYLO.
We will collect questionnaires about participant’s difficulties and feelings to see if MYLO helps. We will also interview them about what they found helpful and unhelpful about MYLO and why. This will help to increase our understanding of how this type of intervention works and help us to improve the MYLO programme.
REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/NW/0367
Date of REC Opinion
2 Jul 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion