PTSDialogue: Designing a Conversational Agent to Support Individuals with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Abstract

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious public health issue. Approximately 8 million adults in the United States suffer from PTSD in any given year, and 7–8% of the U.S. population will have PTSD at some point in their lives. Recent studies have explored eHealth technologies to support persons living with PTSD. However, current approaches are often unable to sustain adherence, leading to sub-optimal clinical outcomes. Conversational agents (CAs) can help to improve longitudinal adherence by interactively engaging users and maintaining social presence. In this work, we present prototypes of PTSDialogue — a finite-state CA to deliver evidence-based strategies and support self-management for individuals living with PTSD. We also discuss the design requirements and process of adapting existing eHealth content to interactive dialogues. Furthermore, we detail design decisions to address safety and ethical concerns to develop a CA for a vulnerable population.