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Looking Through the Lenses of a Patient: An Empirical Study on the Factors Affecting Patients’ Intention to Use Avatar-assisted Therapy

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Abstract

The use of technology has been increasing in health care settings. These health care technologies (e.g., avatar-assisted therapy) offer promising solutions to address accessibility among individuals who are facing mental health challenges. To increase awareness and encourage the use of these avatar-assisted therapies, two studies were conducted to determine the factors that could pose a barrier or an opportunity toward adopting such technology for mental health care interventions. The samples for these studies are individuals who are medically diagnosed patients. The sample for Study 1 was recruited from a crowdsourcing platform with screening questions that filter out suitable respondents. Study 1 tests a model that determines the role of mediators (trust and attitude) between the perceived usability of the avatar and an individual’s intention to use the avatar-assisted therapy. Study 2 is a proof of concept that serves as a program evaluation that validates the model and informs the use of avatar-assisted therapy. The sample for Study 2 was recruited from a local northwestern hospital. The results from the two studies show that individuals are open to using avatar-assisted therapy, but the content and the usability of the avatar need to meet their expectation for them to use the avatar-assisted therapy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. E. Philip Saunders College of Business, Rochester Institute of Technology, 105 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY, 14623, USA

    Emi Moriuchi

  2. College of Health Science and Technology, Rochester Institute of Technology, 153 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY, 14623, USA

    Cassandra Berbary & Caroline Easton

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  1. Emi Moriuchi
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  2. Cassandra Berbary
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Correspondence to Emi Moriuchi.

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Moriuchi, E., Berbary, C. & Easton, C. Looking Through the Lenses of a Patient: An Empirical Study on the Factors Affecting Patients’ Intention to Use Avatar-assisted Therapy. J. technol. behav. sci. 8, 100–112 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41347-022-00298-8

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