Recruiting

DAPHNE Chatbot

Sponsor:

Emre Sezgin

Code:

NCT07168382

Conditions

Social Needs Status

Unmet Health-Related Social Needs and Access to Community Resources

Primary Health Care and Access to Primary Care

Technology Use to Support Caregivers

Caregiver Burden

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 0+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

DAPHNE Chatbot Intervention

Standard HRSN Screening and Referral (Usual Care)

Study Details

Brief summary:

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if the DAPHNE chatbot can improve caregiver engagement, usability, and integration of social care support tools into clinical workflows in caregivers of pediatric patients receiving care at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Primary Care Center (NCH PCC). This is a pilot randomized clinical trial.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • Is the DAPHNE chatbot usable, acceptable, and minimally burdensome for caregivers over a 6-month period?
  • Can the DAPHNE chatbot be effectively integrated into primary care provider workflows?

Researchers will compare the DAPHNE chatbot intervention arm to the standard of care control arm to see if the intervention improves caregiver-reported outcomes and provider workflow integration.

Participants that are patients will be randomly assigned to either the DAPHNE chatbot group or the standard of care group. Complete surveys assessing usability, acceptability, and burden and participate in brief qualitative interviews to share feedback on their experience.

Participants that are Primary Care providers will discuss integration of DAPHNE into clinical workflows and complete workflow integration assessments.

Conditions

Social Needs Status

Unmet Health-Related Social Needs and Access to Community Resources

Primary Health Care and Access to Primary Care

Technology Use to Support Caregivers

Caregiver Burden

Study ID

NCT07168382

Start date

Apr 24, 2026

Status verified date

May, 2026

Completion date

Aug, 2028

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Aug, 2028

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 0+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria (Caregivers):

  • Must be a caregiver of a child seen within the NCH primary care network who self-identifies with at least one unmet social need
  • Must be 18 years of age or older
  • Must be English-speaking
  • Must have a device that connects to the internet

Inclusion Criteria (Primary Care Providers and Support Team Members):

  • Must be 18 years or older
  • Must be employed at Nationwide Children's Hospital

Exclusion Criteria:

\- Due to the intervention only being translated into English, non-English Speakers will be excluded from this study.

Study Design

Enrollment

70 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Health Services Research

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Chatbot Access

The intervention consists of a conversational, AI-powered chatbot designed to identify and address health-related social needs (HRSN) among caregivers of pediatric patients. Delivered via a secure mobile- and web-based application, the chatbot facilitates natural language interactions to assess needs, generate personalized resource recommendations, and support real-time navigation to community-based services. Participants assigned to the intervention arm will have continuous access to the chatbot over a 6-month period, including automated messages, tailored prompts, and context-aware suggestions. The intervention is non-invasive and participant driven.

active comparator: Standard of Care

Participants randomized to the control group will receive the standard of care health-related social needs (HRSN) screening and referral services as currently implemented in Nationwide Children's Hospital primary care clinics. These services include in-clinic social needs assessments conducted during routine visits and referrals to internal or external resources, such as social work or care coordination teams. Participants in this group will not receive access to the DAPHNE chatbot. Study-related surveys and outcome assessments will be equivalent across both groups.

experimental: Health Care Providers

All health care providers will receive access to the chatbot.

Interventions

DAPHNE Chatbot Intervention

The DAPHNE intervention consists of a conversational, AI-powered chatbot designed to identify and address health-related social needs (HRSNs) among caregivers of pediatric patients. Delivered via a secure mobile and web-based application, the chatbot facilitates natural language interactions to assess needs, generate personalized resource recommendations, and support real-time navigation to community-based services. Participants assigned to the intervention arm will have continuous access to the chatbot over a six-month period, including automated nudges, tailored prompts, and context-aware suggestions. The intervention is non-invasive and participant-driven.

Standard HRSN Screening and Referral (Usual Care)

Participants randomized to the control group will receive the standard-of-care HRSN screening and referral services as currently implemented in Nationwide Children's Hospital Primary Care Clinics. These services include in-clinic social needs assessments conducted during routine visits and referrals to internal or external resources, such as social work or care coordination teams. Participants in this group will not receive access to the DAPHNE chatbot.

Primary outcome measure

  • System Usability Scale (SUS) [ Time Frame: 1 month post-baseline and 3 months post-baseline for Caregivers. Providers will complete this at baseline only. ]
  • Web Evaluation Questionnaire (WEQ) [ Time Frame: 1 month and 3 months post-baseline ]
  • Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM) [ Time Frame: Caregivers will complete at 3 months and 6 months post-baseline. Providers will complete at baseline and 6 months post-baseline. ]
  • Retention Rate [ Time Frame: 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months post-baseline ]
  • Social Determinants of Health [ Time Frame: Caregivers will complete at 3 months post-baseline and 6 months post-baseline. ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Emre Sezgin, PhD

(614) 722-3179Emre.Sezgin@nationwidechildrens.org

Locations

Nationwide Children's Hospital

Recruiting

Columbus, Ohio, United States, 43207

Contacts

Emre Sezgin, PhD

(614) 722-3179Emre.Sezgin@nationwidechildrens.org

Principal Investigator:

Emre Sezgin, PhD

More Information

Sponsor

Emre Sezgin

Last update posted

May 11, 2026

Last verified

May, 2026

Keywords

  • Social Needs
  • Chatbot
  • Community Resources

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Emre Sezgin on 2026-05-11.