Effectiveness of Chatbot for Improving Caregiving Outcomes in Primary Caregivers of Geriatric Pneumonia Patients: A Study on Knowledge, Attitude and Practice.

March 5, 2026 updated by: Yu-Xuan Peng, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan

Pneumonia is a leading cause of death and hospitalization among the elderly in Taiwan. High-quality home care is essential to recovery and reducing readmission, yet primary caregivers often lack the specific skills needed, such as airway clearance and safe feeding techniques. Traditional education, consisting of one-time verbal instructions and paper brochures, often lacks interactivity and real-time support.

This study introduces "Pneumonia Care Helper," an interactive LINE chatbot designed to provide digital health education. The goal is to evaluate whether this digital tool is more effective than traditional paper-based education in improving the knowledge, attitudes, and caregiving practices of primary caregivers of elderly pneumonia patients. The study will compare the outcomes of caregivers using the chatbot versus those receiving standard paper-based instructions over a 5-day intervention period.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study employs a quasi-experimental research design to evaluate the effectiveness of a chatbot intervention, "Pneumonia Care Helper," in improving the caregiving capabilities of primary caregivers of elderly patients with pneumonia at Taipei Veterans General Hospital. Pneumonia remains a leading cause of mortality among the elderly in Taiwan, placing a significant burden on family caregivers who often lack professional medical training in essential tasks such as symptom recognition, airway clearance techniques, safe feeding practices, and oral hygiene. To address the limitations of traditional one-time verbal instructions and static paper-based materials, which often fail to provide interactive or real-time support, this research implements a digital health education framework via a mobile application. A total of 150 primary caregivers will be recruited from four specialized medical wards, including Hospital Medicine, Geriatrics, General Medicine, and Infectious Diseases. Participants are assigned to either the experimental or control group based on their respective hospital wards to minimize potential intervention crossover between participants in the same unit. Caregivers in the experimental group receive a five-day digital intervention featuring four specialized educational videos and an interactive, AI-driven chatbot for 24/7 on-demand inquiries. The control group receives a standardized 20-minute one-on-one verbal education session accompanied by a printed brochure containing identical content. The evaluation is guided by the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) theory, with assessments conducted at enrollment (Day 0) and upon completion of the five-day intervention (Day 5) using a validated KAP scale. This study aims to demonstrate the feasibility and efficacy of using mobile chatbot technology as a modern pedagogical tool to bridge the gap in clinical nursing education and enhance the overall quality of home-based pneumonia care for the elderly population.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

150

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

  • Name: Yu-Xuan Peng, Bachelor of Science in Nursing
  • Phone Number: +886 905569880
  • Email: ulysse0831@gmail.com

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • (1)Patients with a primary diagnosis of pneumonia during the current hospitalization.(2)Patients aged 65 years or older.(3)Primary caregivers aged 18 years or older.(4)Primary caregivers who can read and understand Mandarin Chinese.(5)Primary caregivers who own a mobile device (e.g., smartphone or tablet) and can use the chatbot application.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • (1)Primary caregivers who do not live with the patient.(2)Primary caregivers who have received formal training as professional nursing assistants or caregivers.(3)Primary caregivers who are currently or were formerly healthcare professionals (e.g., physicians, nurses, therapists).(4)Primary caregivers who do not possess a mobile device or are unable to use chatbot applications.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Chatbot and Educational Videos Group
Participants in the intervention wards will receive pneumonia health education via a dedicated chatbot. In addition to interactive text and FAQ modules, the chatbot provides four specialized educational videos covering pneumonia caregiving techniques. Caregivers can watch these videos repeatedly and access all digital materials anytime during the patient's hospitalization.
Behavioral: Chatbot with Educational Videos
Participants will receive access to a dedicated chatbot named "Pneumonia Care Helper." The intervention lasts for 5 days. It includes: (1) Initial orientation on chatbot operation. (2) Unlimited on-demand access to four educational videos: Introduction to Pneumonia, Airway Clearance Techniques, Feeding and Tube Feeding Skills, and Oral Hygiene. (3) An interactive text-based AI response system for real-time Q&A. Caregivers are encouraged to engage with the chatbot and watch the videos as many times as needed, 24/7, throughout the 5-day study period.
Active Comparator: Traditional Paper-based Education Group
Participants in the control wards will receive traditional health education through printed brochures and standard verbal instructions from nursing staff. The content of the paper-based materials is identical to the information provided in the chatbot group, but without interactive or digital features.
Behavioral: Traditional Paper-based Education
Participants will receive a 20-minute one-on-one verbal health education session conducted by the researcher upon enrollment. A printed pneumonia care brochure will be provided, containing information identical to the content in the chatbot's educational videos (Introduction to Pneumonia, Airway Clearance Techniques, Feeding and Tube Feeding Skills, and Oral Hygiene). The study period lasts for 5 days, during which caregivers have unlimited access to the brochure for review at any time.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Caregiver Knowledge of Elderly Pneumonia Care
Time Frame: Baseline (Day 0) and 5 days after the initiation of the intervention.
Measured using the "Pneumonia Care Knowledge subscale" (13 items). This multiple-choice subscale covers the causes, symptoms, prevention, emergency recognition, chest physiotherapy, feeding safety, and oral hygiene of pneumonia. Each correct answer scores 1 point and incorrect answers score 0. Total scores range from 0 to 15, with higher scores indicating a better level of knowledge regarding elderly pneumonia care. The scale has been validated by experts with an S-CVI/Ave of 0.99.
Baseline (Day 0) and 5 days after the initiation of the intervention.
Caregiver Attitude Toward Elderly Pneumonia Care
Time Frame: Baseline (Day 0) and 5 days after the initiation of the intervention.
Measured using the "Pneumonia Care Attitude subscale" (7 items). This subscale assesses the caregiver's perception of disease severity, learning willingness, and caregiving confidence using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree). Items 5 and 7 are reverse-scored. Total scores range from 7 to 35, with higher scores indicating a more positive attitude toward pneumonia care. The scale has been validated by experts with an S-CVI/Ave of 0.99.
Baseline (Day 0) and 5 days after the initiation of the intervention.
Caregiver Practice of Elderly Pneumonia Care
Time Frame: Baseline (Day 0) and 5 days after the initiation of the intervention.
Measured using the "Pneumonia Care Practice subscale" (5 items). This subscale evaluates the frequency or intention of practical caregiving behaviors, including chest physiotherapy, oral hygiene, feeding/tube feeding, symptom monitoring, and preventive actions. It uses a 5-point Likert scale (1 = never to 5 = always). Total scores range from 5 to 25, with higher scores indicating more positive or frequent engagement in correct pneumonia care behaviors. The scale has been validated by experts with an S-CVI/Ave of 0.99.
Baseline (Day 0) and 5 days after the initiation of the intervention.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Ming-Shan Jan, Doctor of Philosophy, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

March 10, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

February 24, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

February 24, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 5, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 5, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

March 11, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 11, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 5, 2026

Last Verified

February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2025-12-005AC

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared to protect the privacy and confidentiality of the participants. Additionally, the data is being used for a master's degree thesis, and the full research findings will be made available through the university's thesis repository upon completion

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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