The Loneliness Epidemic Tailoring Interventions to Reduce Loneliness and Pain

Building upon existing evidence on loneliness and pain research, conversational voice assistant (CVA) technology and personalized persuasion, an interdisciplinary and inter-institutional team of researchers has been assembled to conduct a 12-week randomized control pilot with older adults that live alone and self-report pain. Participants will interact with a standard or a personally enhanced loneliness routine delivered through a CVA. Investigators will explore intervention feasibility and examine the efficacy of both standard and personalized interventions on loneliness and secondary outcomes.

Investigators propose to conduct a 12-week pilot randomized controlled trial. Participants will be randomly assigned with equal distribution to the conversational voice assistant-standard group (CVA-S, n=30) or the conversational voice assistant-enhanced loneliness routine treatment group (CVA-ELR, n=30). Data will be collected at pre- (baseline) and post-intervention (after 12-weeks). The 12-week duration was chosen based on published intervention studies designed to reduce loneliness in older adults. Both groups will receive basic training on how to use the conversational voice assistant.

Study Groups Group 1. Conversational Voice Assistant Standard Loneliness Routine (CVA-S) Participants in the CVA-S group will receive an a priori set of evidence-based interactions to perform with the conversational voice assistant. The interaction dose will be 15 minutes, performed once in the morning and once in the evening, at preset times. The participants will 1) do a meditation activity, 2) play an interactive trivia game, and 3) ask the assistant to tell a joke. These activities were selected based on prior literature; programs involving meditation and humor therapy have been found to reduce loneliness, and humor therapy has also been found to relieve pain.

Group 2. Conversational Voice Assistant Enhanced Loneliness Routine (CVA-ELR) Participants in the CVA-ELR group will receive personalized intervention materials based on individual baseline personality and entertainment inventory results. Potential personalization tactics used to match intervention materials with each individual's personality and entertainment preferences include: identification (name integration), expectation (customization claim), contextualization (meaningful personal context), descriptive (personal data), comparative (contrast to others), evaluative (personal recommendation).

The CVA-S and personalized CVA-ELR interventions will use the minimum viable user experience (UX) design approach to develop intervention materials and will be delivered through a smart speaker.

Investigator developed questionnaires will be used to collect self-reported descriptive demographic and health history.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* men and women ≥60 years of age
* live alone (single-family home, independent, or assisted living)
* have experienced or currently experiencing musculoskeletal pain
* wireless internet access via a broadband Internet connection

Exclusion Criteria:

* memory loss as evidenced by poor performance on the Mini Cog
* inability to speak English
* prior use or current use of a conversational voice assistant
* not willing to engage with the voice assistant