Assessing medical students’ perceived stress levels by comparing a chatbot-based approach to the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ20) in a mixed-methods study
Objective Digital transformation in higher education has presented medical students with new challenges, which has increased the difficulty of organising their own studies. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a chatbot in assessing the stress levels of medical studen...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Digital Health |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076221139092 |
| _version_ | 1811186784564936704 |
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| author | Julia-Astrid Moldt Teresa Festl-Wietek Amir Madany Mamlouk Anne Herrmann-Werner |
| author_facet | Julia-Astrid Moldt Teresa Festl-Wietek Amir Madany Mamlouk Anne Herrmann-Werner |
| author_sort | Julia-Astrid Moldt |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective Digital transformation in higher education has presented medical students with new challenges, which has increased the difficulty of organising their own studies. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a chatbot in assessing the stress levels of medical students in everyday conversations and to identify the main condition for accepting a chatbot as a conversational partner based on validated stress instruments, such as the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ20). Methods In this mixed-methods research design, medical-student stress level was assessed using a quantitative (digital- and paper-based versions of PSQ20) and qualitative (chatbot conversation) study design. PSQ20 items were also shortened to investigate whether medical students’ stress levels can be measured in everyday conversations. Therefore, items were integrated into the chat between medical students and a chatbot named Melinda. Results PSQ20 revealed increased stress levels in 43.4% of medical students who participated ( N = 136). The integrated PSQ20 items in the conversations with Melinda obtained similar subjective stress degree results in the statistical analysis of both PSQ20 versions. Qualitative analysis revealed that certain functional and technical requirements have a significant impact on the expected use and success of the chatbot. Conclusion The results suggest that chatbots are promising as personal digital assistants for medical students; they can detect students’ stress factors during the conversation. Increasing the chatbot's technical and social capabilities could have a positive impact on user acceptance. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T13:51:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-eea532b15d2f458badcd9f505750382f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2055-2076 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T13:51:57Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Digital Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-eea532b15d2f458badcd9f505750382f2022-12-22T04:20:36ZengSAGE PublishingDigital Health2055-20762022-11-01810.1177/20552076221139092Assessing medical students’ perceived stress levels by comparing a chatbot-based approach to the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ20) in a mixed-methods studyJulia-Astrid Moldt0Teresa Festl-Wietek1Amir Madany Mamlouk2Anne Herrmann-Werner3 TIME – Tübingen Institute for Medical Education, University Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany TIME – Tübingen Institute for Medical Education, University Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany Institute for Neuro- and Bioinformatics, University of Luebeck, Luebeck, Germany Department of Internal Medicine VI/Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen, GermanyObjective Digital transformation in higher education has presented medical students with new challenges, which has increased the difficulty of organising their own studies. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a chatbot in assessing the stress levels of medical students in everyday conversations and to identify the main condition for accepting a chatbot as a conversational partner based on validated stress instruments, such as the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ20). Methods In this mixed-methods research design, medical-student stress level was assessed using a quantitative (digital- and paper-based versions of PSQ20) and qualitative (chatbot conversation) study design. PSQ20 items were also shortened to investigate whether medical students’ stress levels can be measured in everyday conversations. Therefore, items were integrated into the chat between medical students and a chatbot named Melinda. Results PSQ20 revealed increased stress levels in 43.4% of medical students who participated ( N = 136). The integrated PSQ20 items in the conversations with Melinda obtained similar subjective stress degree results in the statistical analysis of both PSQ20 versions. Qualitative analysis revealed that certain functional and technical requirements have a significant impact on the expected use and success of the chatbot. Conclusion The results suggest that chatbots are promising as personal digital assistants for medical students; they can detect students’ stress factors during the conversation. Increasing the chatbot's technical and social capabilities could have a positive impact on user acceptance.https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076221139092 |
| spellingShingle | Julia-Astrid Moldt Teresa Festl-Wietek Amir Madany Mamlouk Anne Herrmann-Werner Assessing medical students’ perceived stress levels by comparing a chatbot-based approach to the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ20) in a mixed-methods study Digital Health |
| title | Assessing medical students’ perceived stress levels by comparing a chatbot-based approach to the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ20)
in a mixed-methods study |
| title_full | Assessing medical students’ perceived stress levels by comparing a chatbot-based approach to the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ20)
in a mixed-methods study |
| title_fullStr | Assessing medical students’ perceived stress levels by comparing a chatbot-based approach to the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ20)
in a mixed-methods study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing medical students’ perceived stress levels by comparing a chatbot-based approach to the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ20)
in a mixed-methods study |
| title_short | Assessing medical students’ perceived stress levels by comparing a chatbot-based approach to the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ20)
in a mixed-methods study |
| title_sort | assessing medical students perceived stress levels by comparing a chatbot based approach to the perceived stress questionnaire psq20 in a mixed methods study |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076221139092 |
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