Virtual Coach for Mindfulness Meditation Training

正念冥想训练虚拟教练

基本信息

批准号：
7747846
负责人：
Eva Hudlicka
金额：
$ 14.5万
依托单位：
PSYCHOMETRIX ASSOCIATES, INC.
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
财政年份：
2009
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2009-09-01 至 2010-05-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7747846
关键词：
Address Affect Affective Architecture Area Arts Businesses Computers Cost Savings Data Development Devices Effectiveness Emerging Technologies Emotional Evaluation Feedback Health Health Personnel Health behavior Instruction Knowledge Marketing Methods Monitor Online Systems Participant Patients Phase Phase I Clinical Trials Pilot Projects Population Provider Public Health Research Research Personnel Science Self-Administered Services Small Business Innovation Research Grant Solutions Students Techniques Technology Text Training Training Programs Training Support United States National Institutes of Health Verbal Behavior base cost design experience innovation laptop medical schools mindfulness mindfulness meditation mindfulness-based stress reduction prototype public health relevance skills social tool training project usability virtual virtual reality

项目摘要

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In spite of the demonstrated benefits of mindfulness meditation, access to mindfulness training remains limited, due in part to a lack of adequately trained providers, and a lack of access to training programs. Psychometrix Associates plans to develop a virtual computer coach to provide customized, adaptive training in mindfulness meditation techniques. The coach will be based on a widely-used manualized mindfulness training program: Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). The coach will integrate and enhance two areas of knowledge, research and emerging technologies: relational pedagogical agents and affective computing, to develop an innovative product designed to help students initiate and maintain a mindfulness meditation practice. Specific innovations include: mindfulness training via a virtual coach; enhanced social and affective realism of the coach; and customized feedback provided to the student during training. The coach will initially be intended for use by healthcare providers, but will later be adapted for use by patients, and by consumers. By providing low-cost, easily-accessible training and support necessary for the development and establishment of a mindfulness meditation practice, the virtual coach would provide the benefits of mindfulness meditation to a larger segment of the population. The coach will also be useful as a tool for delivering standardized mindfulness training for researchers conducting empirical studies of the effects and mechanisms of mindfulness. Following an initial desktop/laptop application, the coach would also be available as a web-based service, and for mobile devices. Under the proposed Phase I study, we will focus on the following objectives. Develop the Mindfulness Training Coach prototype, by integrating an existing conversational coaching agent with an existing affective agent architecture, to provide engaging coaching and customized feedback, tuned to the student's dynamic emotional state and progress in the training. Develop content for the coach prototype, by adapting the existing MBSR training materials. Obtain feedback regarding the coach's usability from potential users and experts, by conducting concurrent usability evaluation during development. Assess the coach's effectiveness in training mindfulness meditation practice via a 4-week pilot study. Use resulting data to inform the design of a full-scope coach under a Phase II. A successful development of the proposed virtual coach would advance the state-of-the-art in affect-adaptive coaching for health behavior and affective relational agents in general, and would produce a technology that could have significant benefits for public health, and health-related research. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The proposed virtual coach for mindfulness training would provide a low-cost, easily-accessible tool to provide the training and support necessary for the development and establishment of a mindfulness meditation practice. Given the demonstrated benefits associated with a regular practice of mindfulness, increased access to these techniques could result in significant improvements in public health, and associated cost savings.

描述（由申请人提供）：尽管正念冥想已被证明有好处，但获得正念培训的机会仍然有限，部分原因是缺乏经过充分培训的提供者，也缺乏参加培训计划的机会。 Psychometrix Associates 计划开发一个虚拟电脑教练，提供定制的、适应性的正念冥想技巧培训。教练将基于广泛使用的手动正念训练计划：基于正念的减压（MBSR）。教练将整合和增强知识、研究和新兴技术两个领域：关系教学代理和情感计算，开发一种创新产品，旨在帮助学生启动和维持正念冥想练习。具体创新包括：通过虚拟教练进行正念训练；增强教练的社会和情感现实感；以及在培训期间向学生提供的定制反馈。该教练最初旨在供医疗保健提供者使用，但随后将进行调整以供患者和消费者使用。通过提供开发和建立正念冥想练习所需的低成本、易于获得的培训和支持，虚拟教练将为更多的人提供正念冥想的好处。该教练还可以作为一种工具，为对正念的影响和机制进行实证研究的研究人员提供标准化的正念训练。在最初的台式机/笔记本电脑应用程序之后，教练还将作为基于网络的服务提供给移动设备。根据拟议的第一阶段研究，我们将重点关注以下目标。通过将现有的对话辅导代理与现有的情感代理架构相集成，开发正念训练教练原型，以提供引人入胜的辅导和定制反馈，并根据学生的动态情绪状态和培训进度进行调整。通过改编现有的 MBSR 培训材料，开发教练原型的内容。通过在开发过程中同时进行可用性评估，从潜在用户和专家那里获取有关 Coach 可用性的反馈。通过为期 4 周的试点研究来评估教练在训练正念冥想练习方面的有效性。使用结果数据为第二阶段的全方位教练设计提供信息。拟议的虚拟教练的成功开发将推动健康行为和情感关系代理的情感适应性教练的最先进水平，并将产生一种可能对公共健康和健康产生重大益处的技术。相关研究。公共健康相关性：拟议的正念训练虚拟教练将提供一种低成本、易于访问的工具，为正念冥想练习的发展和建立提供必要的培训和支持。鉴于定期进行正念练习所带来的好处，增加这些技术的使用可能会显着改善公共卫生，并节省相关成本。