A chatbot for young people (13–24 years old) to help them manage their worries during the COVID-19 pandemic.
| Aroha |
By Habits, The University of Auckland |
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Features
- Uses Facebook Messenger
- Activities to help with your mental health
- Aimed at teenagers and young adults (13–24 years)
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| Country of origin |
New Zealand
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| Clinical review |
Read a clinical review of this app.
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| User reviews |
 (0)
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| Security and privacy |
Does the app:
- collect medical information? Yes
- require a login? Yes
- have password protection? Yes
- have a privacy policy? Unclear, but approved by the Auckland Ethics Committee
- require internet access? Yes
Read more safety tips around health apps. |
| Cost |
Free |
What does the chatbot do?
Aroha is a chatbot designed to help young people cope with stress during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing positive ways of coping. To appeal to a younger audience (13–24 years), the chatbot works on Facebook Messenger.
Aroha has a number of guided activities divided into different sections:
- Mood and Emotions covers a selection of calming activities such as breathing exercises and meditation, self-care, and how to distract yourself.
- Boost Wellbeing covers getting active, spirituality, staying connected and practicing gratitude.
- Practical Support covers getting expert help, alcohol and drugs, violence/abuse, anger and money worries.
To set up an account, you can use Habits portal, a secure online portal. You will then get a link to Facebook that connects you with the Aroha chatbot. After a few days of using it, Aroha will send you a link to give them feedback.
| PROS |
CONS |
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✔ Uses different methods to assess level of distress, such as simple numerical rating, and a more fully fledged mental health questionnaire.
✔ Strong tikanga and te reo Māori focus and recognises te reo Māori when it is used.
✔ You can respond with pre-set emojis or text.
✔ Reminders for certain activities, eg, gratitude and exercise.
✔ The apps is being continuously improved.
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✘ Facebook Messenger is required.
✘ No videos.
✘ The pure chat-based system makes navigation through the programme difficult without a universally accessible menu or a way to quickly quit out of activities and menus.
✘ Access is only available by consenting to be part of The University of Auckland's research study.
✘ The bot has a limited ability to respond to or understand free text.
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Review details
Date of review: March 2021 (accessed 8/3/2021)
Platform reviewed: Web-based browser
| App developer |
| If you are the developer and would like to provide updated information about this app, please email the app library manager at applibrary@healthnavigator.org.nz. |
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Clinical review
Reviewer: Jeremy Steinberg, GP, FRNZCGP
Date of review: March 2021
Comments: Aroha is a Facebook Messenger chatbot for supporting hauora during the COVID-19 pandemic that must be accessed through the University of Auckland research study. It is in a process of continuous development. It starts with introductions, and then has several embedded menus guiding the user through various activities. There is a strong Māori and te reo focus which was great to see. It covers many difficult topics such as abuse and homelessness.
Navigation was a little confusing with the pure chat system. A hybrid system such as with the Curable app (for general mental health and trauma) works better where it has both a chatbot and a menu system. The developers state they are working on an app version.
Due to the lack of an overview of the programme I cannot be certain that I covered all the activities. The bot has a limited ability to respond or understand free text. The conversation is usually guided by the bot. However, overall it does well within the confines of the inherent limitations of this type of system.
Safety concerns: There are inherent risks with using a bot, but they appear to be well managed.
New Zealand relevance: Developed in New Zealand for the New Zealand context.
Clinical review
Reviewer: Jeremy Steinberg, GP, FRNZCGP
Date of review: April 2020
Comments: Aroha is a Facebook Messenger chatbot for supporting hauora during the COVID-19 pandemic that must be accessed through a University of Auckland research study. It is stated to be still in development. It starts with introductions, and then has several embedded menus guiding the user through various activities. There is a strong Māori and te reo focus which was great to see.
Navigation was difficult with the pure chat system. A hybrid system, such as with the Curable app (for general mental health and trauma), works better where it has both a chatbot and a menu system. Perhaps the developers could find a way to integrate easier navigation and aborting activities through the pure Facebook Messenger chat system.
Due to the lack of an overview of the programme I cannot be certain that I covered all the activities.
Safety concerns: It only sometimes seemed to recognise when the reviewer said they were in trouble, but there is frequent mention of various other supports available.
New Zealand relevance: Developed in New Zealand for the New Zealand context.
