Ailbot: a Respiratory-Focused Symptom Checker Chatbot For Children

• Main Authors: Arco, Gabrielle Mae V., Cheng, Ken Ivan T., Chong, Pamela S., Olaguer, Chico Andre G.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2022
• Subjects: chatbot; healthcare; symptom checker; healthcare chatbot; telehealth; Engineering
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/conf_shsrescon/2022/poster_csr/3; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1141&context=conf_shsrescon
• Institution: De La Salle University

Inadequate access to healthcare, accompanied by the spread of COVID-19 has significantly affected most Filipinos. The prolonged quarantine period in the Philippines due to this virus restricts the movement and lifestyle of people. Thus, it makes medical appointments difficult to arrange. The ever-growing number of healthcare chatbots can provide access to healthcare check-ups quickly. These systems are still in their infancy stages, with the majority focusing on the mental and emotional well-being of people and catering to the general public. This study aims to develop a chatbot geared toward the respiratory health of Filipino children. Through the use of Chatfuel, Ailbot, a symptom checker chatbot was developed and integrated into Facebook. Ailbot aims to determine the likelihood of its user having common respiratory ailments, such as Common Colds, Bronchial Asthma, Pneumonia, Influenza (Flu), and Acute Sinusitis. To evaluate the Ailbot’s usability, functionality, and humanity, five Filipino children aged 8 to 12 were asked to converse with the bot and share some feedback about their conversational experience. Results indicated that Ailbot is excellent in its Usability metric, attaining an average System Usability Scale (SUS) score of 82.5. Consequently, Ailbot proved to be functional and very humane based on a self-made questionnaire. Using thematic analysis, four common points of feedback were present through all the interviews – ease of usage, issue of being a non-digital native, adult assistance, and medical knowledge. Additionally, feedback from the parents and medical experts was noted for future reference to aid the improvement of Ailbot.