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"Empowering Empathy Through AI: The Role of Chatbots in Pediatric Oncology and Mental Health Support"

Authors:
Anna E. Schmaus-Klughammer at Klughammer GmbH / One World Medical Network e.V. / Deggendorf Institute of Technology
Anna E. Schmaus-Klughammer
  • Klughammer GmbH / One World Medical Network e.V. / Deggendorf Institute of Technology
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Abstract

Klughammer, LLB(hons), Deggendorf Institute of Technology, One World Medical Network e.V., schmaus@owmn.org In the rapidly evolving landscape of healthcare and mental health support, the emphasis on empathy has never been more critical. As artificial intelligence (AI) makes significant strides, its potential to deepen empathetic engagement in clinical and support settings is coming to the forefront. This transformation hinges on understanding and addressing the nuanced emotional and social needs of patients and their families, especially in the challenging realm of pediatric oncology. Empathy, the ability to understand and share the feelings of another, is a cornerstone of effective healthcare delivery. It fosters a supportive environment that can significantly enhance patient outcomes and satisfaction. In the context of mental health support and pediatric cancer care, where patients and families navigate complex emotional landscapes, empathy plays a pivotal role. Here, AI technologies are introduced not as replacements for human compassion but as tools to augment and amplify the empathetic capacities of healthcare providers and support networks. Recent advancements in AI have extended beyond routine tasks, stepping into the domain of empathetic conversation facilitation in peer-to-peer mental health support and healthcare environments. The creation of AI-based systems tailored for these settings offers a novel approach to understanding and managing the complex web of human emotions. Such technologies are designed to screen for social determinants of health, providing real-time, empathetic support to families facing the multifaceted challenges of pediatric cancer. Pediatric cancer, a leading cause of disease-related death among children, presents a profound need for integrated care approaches that encompass medical treatment and emotional support. The social determinants of health, including financial, emotional, and logistical factors, significantly impact the ability of children and their families to cope with the disease and its treatment. Chronic stress, exacerbated by inadequate living conditions and the emotional toll of the illness, can negatively affect a child's health outcomes. In this context, AI-driven initiatives aim to alleviate toxic stress, improve clinical outcomes, and promote health equity among pediatric cancer patients. By engaging with healthcare providers, social workers, and families in the development process, AI technologies are carefully designed to meet the intricate needs of its users with empathy and precision. Through natural language processing and user-friendly interfaces, these systems identify social needs, offer access to personalized resources, and introduce effective stress management techniques. The interconnection between empathy and pediatric cancer care underscores the transformative potential of AI in healthcare. By facilitating deeply human connections and addressing critical social needs, empathetic AI systems not only enhance the overall care experience but also contribute to a holistic approach to health and well-being. The emphasis on empathy in the integration of AI into healthcare marks a promising new frontier in human-AI collaboration, highlighting the power of technology to support profound emotional intelligence and sensitivity in addressing the challenges of pediatric oncology and mental health support.
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"Empowering Empathy Through AI: The Role of Chatbots in Pediatric Oncology and
Mental Health Support"
Anna Schmaus-Klughammer, LLB(hons), Deggendorf Institute of Technology, One World
Medical Network e.V., schmaus@owmn.org
In the rapidly evolving landscape of healthcare and mental health support, the emphasis on
empathy has never been more critical. As artificial intelligence (AI) makes significant strides,
its potential to deepen empathetic engagement in clinical and support settings is coming to
the forefront. This transformation hinges on understanding and addressing the nuanced
emotional and social needs of patients and their families, especially in the challenging realm
of pediatric oncology.
Empathy, the ability to understand and share the feelings of another, is a cornerstone of
effective healthcare delivery. It fosters a supportive environment that can significantly
enhance patient outcomes and satisfaction. In the context of mental health support and
pediatric cancer care, where patients and families navigate complex emotional landscapes,
empathy plays a pivotal role. Here, AI technologies are introduced not as replacements for
human compassion but as tools to augment and amplify the empathetic capacities of
healthcare providers and support networks.
Recent advancements in AI have extended beyond routine tasks, stepping into the domain of
empathetic conversation facilitation in peer-to-peer mental health support and healthcare
environments. The creation of AI-based systems tailored for these settings offers a novel
approach to understanding and managing the complex web of human emotions. Such
technologies are designed to screen for social determinants of health, providing real-time,
empathetic support to families facing the multifaceted challenges of pediatric cancer.
Pediatric cancer, a leading cause of disease-related death among children, presents a
profound need for integrated care approaches that encompass medical treatment and
emotional support. The social determinants of health, including financial, emotional, and
logistical factors, significantly impact the ability of children and their families to cope with the
disease and its treatment. Chronic stress, exacerbated by inadequate living conditions and
the emotional toll of the illness, can negatively affect a child's health outcomes.
In this context, AI-driven initiatives aim to alleviate toxic stress, improve clinical outcomes,
and promote health equity among pediatric cancer patients. By engaging with healthcare
providers, social workers, and families in the development process, AI technologies are
carefully designed to meet the intricate needs of its users with empathy and precision.
Through natural language processing and user-friendly interfaces, these systems identify
social needs, offer access to personalized resources, and introduce effective stress
management techniques.
The interconnection between empathy and pediatric cancer care underscores the
transformative potential of AI in healthcare. By facilitating deeply human connections and
addressing critical social needs, empathetic AI systems not only enhance the overall care
experience but also contribute to a holistic approach to health and well-being. The emphasis
on empathy in the integration of AI into healthcare marks a promising new frontier in human-
AI collaboration, highlighting the power of technology to support profound emotional
intelligence and sensitivity in addressing the challenges of pediatric oncology and mental
health support.
References:
Sharma, A., Lin, I.W., Miner, A.S. et al. Human–AI collaboration enables more empathic conversations in text-
based peer-to-peer mental health support. Nat Mach Intell 5, 46–57 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42256-022-
00593-2
Micah Skeens- Using AI chatbots to support families of children with cancer,
https://www.wcrf.org/researchwefund/using-ai-chatbots-to-support-families-of-children-with-cancer/ (downloaded
11thMarch 2024)
Deggendorf, 11th March 2024
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
Human–AI collaboration enables more empathic conversations in text-based peer-to-peer mental health support
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2023
Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are enabling systems that augment and collaborate with humans to perform simple, mechanistic tasks such as scheduling meetings and grammar-checking text. However, such human–AI collaboration poses challenges for more complex tasks, such as carrying out empathic conversations, due to the difficulties that AI systems face in navigating complex human emotions and the open-ended nature of these tasks. Here we focus on peer-to-peer mental health support, a setting in which empathy is critical for success, and examine how AI can collaborate with humans to facilitate peer empathy during textual, online supportive conversations. We develop HAILEY, an AI-in-the-loop agent that provides just-in-time feedback to help participants who provide support (peer supporters) respond more empathically to those seeking help (support seekers). We evaluate HAILEY in a non-clinical randomized controlled trial with real-world peer supporters on TalkLife (N = 300), a large online peer-to-peer support platform. We show that our human–AI collaboration approach leads to a 19.6% increase in conversational empathy between peers overall. Furthermore, we find a larger, 38.9% increase in empathy within the subsample of peer supporters who self-identify as experiencing difficulty providing support. We systematically analyse the human–AI collaboration patterns and find that peer supporters are able to use the AI feedback both directly and indirectly without becoming overly reliant on AI while reporting improved self-efficacy post-feedback. Our findings demonstrate the potential of feedback-driven, AI-in-the-loop writing systems to empower humans in open-ended, social and high-stakes tasks such as empathic conversations.
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