Development of a Chatbot to Identify Depression Through a Questionnaire

Author(s): Stefano Neto Jai Hyun Choi, Ana Luiza Fontes de Azevedo Costa, Rita Simone Lopes Moreira, Caio Vinicius Saito Regatieri, Vagner Rogério dos Santos

Purpose: To develop and test a prototype of Chatbot with the purpose of applying a questionnaire to assess depression in visually impaired individuals.

Methods: This project was carried out in the Federal University of São Paulo. The Chatbot was developed using the platform BLiP®. The social-demography questionnaire and the Center for Epidemiological Scale – Depression (CES-D) were selected to collect the essential data and to identify the presence of depression, respectively. After the development, validation tests were applied to verify the func-tionality and structure of the chatbot.

Results: The Chatbot prototype presented an excellent flow of conversation in the tests conducted. The questionnaires were applied in a satisfactory manner during the tests. Software validation tests approved the prototype’s function.

Conclusions: The Chatbot prototype is an affordable and easy way to apply questionnaires that can be used to identify health conditions, such as the likelihood of being depressed.