Exploring health professionals' views on the depiction of conversational agents as health professionals: a qualitative descriptive study

Background Some health care conversational agents (HCCAs) are designed to simulate health professionals in terms of their presentation or appearance. Research suggests that the public has favorable views toward the depiction of HCCAs as health professionals, but the views of health professionals are less clear. We conducted a qualitative descriptive study to learn more about health professionals' views on this topic. Methods Physicians, nurses, and regulated mental health professionals were recruited using web-based methods. Participants were interviewed individually using the Zoom videoconferencing platform. They were asked to discuss potential benefits and drawbacks surrounding the depiction of HCCAs as health professionals. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and uploaded to NVivo (version 12; QSR International, Inc) for thematic analysis. Results Twenty-four health professionals participated in the study (19 women, five men; M age = 42.75 years, SD  = 10.71). Three themes were developed from their interview data. Participants said that portraying HCCAs as health professionals is a form of misrepresentation and may mislead program users. Participants were also concerned that these depictions could draw from stereotypes regarding the appearance of health professionals, which might affect people's expectations surrounding these programs or their willingness to use them. Despite these concerns, some participants thought that there may be benefits to depicting HCCAs as health professionals, particularly in terms of providing a sense of reassurance to people seeking health support. Conclusions The health professionals in this study expressed mixed views toward the depiction of HCCAs as health professionals. Their insights may prompt further discussion on the appropriate depiction of HCCAs among developers and other stakeholders.