Pai.ACT: AI-Driven ACT Chatbot for Mental Health Triage and Service Evaluation

Summary

Parents of children with special needs in Hong Kong often face limited psychological support, which can negatively impact the child rehabilitation process and the well-being of parent-child relationships. To address this gap, we have developed Pai.ACT, the first deep learning-based mental health advisory system for parents.

Pai.ACT features an AI chatbot that integrates the counselling principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) through natural language processing, providing parents with a human-like voice-to-text experience. Using data from chatbot interactions, the Pai.ACT platform offers assessments regarding the individual's psychological inflexibility status and delivers stratified mental health interventions by:

* Low-risk: Users access self-help ACT digital modules tailored to their specific psychological inflexibility processes.
* Moderate-risk: In addition to the self-help modules, users receive 4-6 sessions of video-conferencing-based ACT interventions (45-60 minutes per session) conducted by our trained counseling team.
* High-risk: Users are directed to specialized mental health services provided by collaborating units.

The study includes a regional randomised controlled trial (RCT) in Hong Kong's Sha Tin District, in collaboration with the Shatin District Office. The goal of this regional study is to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of combining AI-driven mental health support across all of Hong Kong. Focus group interviews will also explore parents' perceptions of Pai.ACT and help identify the most effective service model for scaling its use.

Pai.ACT provides accessible and comprehensive mental health services to Chinese-speaking parents, helping to alleviate the psychological burden of caregiving. By integrating mental health support with child rehabilitation services and non-governmental organisations, Pai.ACT has the potential to enhance family caregivers' well-being, reduce stigma associated with special needs children, and promote more significant mental health awareness in Chinese-speaking communities.

Conditions

• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Attention Deficit Disorder With Hyperactivity (ADHD)
• Neurodevelopmental Disorder (Diagnosis)
• Dyslexia

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Pai.ACT Group

The Pai.ACT mobile app is an innovative therapeutic tool that utilizes Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). It integrates a sophisticated AI algorithm to analyze self-reported data and conversation texts when the user interacts with the AI chatbot and identifies what psychological inflexibility processes are required to be the most essential to be addressed for process-matched ACT interventions. Following interactions with the AI chatbot, Pai.ACT provides a stratified mental health support, categorizing into three risk levels: * Low-risk: Users access self-help ACT digital modules tailored to their specific psychological inflexibility processes. * Moderate-risk: In addition to the self-help modules, users receive 4-6 sessions of video-conferencing-based ACT interventions (45-60 minutes per session) conducted by our trained counseling team. * High-risk: Users are directed to specialized mental health services provided by collaborating units.

OTHER

Control Group

Both the Pai.ACT intervention group and the control group will receive standard family support through Hong Kong's family and children rehabilitation services, which are administered by government-funded units under the Social Welfare Department. Parents will participate in structured psychoeducation sessions focusing on positive parenting and will have access to peer support groups. Their children will receive individualized training plans tailored for neurodevelopmental conditions, in addition to referrals for speech and occupational therapy.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Social Welfare Department, Hong Kong

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• Chinese University of Hong Kong

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

19 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-02-10

Primary Completion

2026-02-28

Completion

2027-02-28