Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40638917›Full record

ArticleJMIR research protocols2025

Conversational Systems for Social Care in Older Adults: Protocol for a Scoping Review.

Rosiered Brownson-Smith, Ananya Ananthakrishnan, Oksana Hagen, Cen Cong, Amir Aly, Ray B Jones, Edward Meinert

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR research protocols, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Rosiered Brownson-Smith *Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Depth AI Lab, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-8960-4761
Ananya Ananthakrishnan *Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Depth AI Lab, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.ORCID 0009-0000-0292-3923
Oksana Hagen *Centre for Health Technology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-5486-7609
Cen CongTranslational and Clinical Research Institute, Depth AI Lab, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.ORCID 0009-0007-8261-6480
Amir AlyCentre for Health Technology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0001-5169-0679
Ray B JonesCentre for Health Technology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-2963-3421
Edward MeinertTranslational and Clinical Research Institute, Depth AI Lab, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0003-2484-3347

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSocial care systems worldwide face increasing demographic and financial pressures. This necessitates exploring innovative technological solutions to enhance service delivery without substantially increasing costs. Conversational interfaces, including interactive voice response, chatbots, and voice assistants, have gained traction as a means to improve accessibility and efficiency in social care. The rapid development of large language models such as ChatGPT has further accelerated interest in conversational artificial intelligence (AI). These technologies can offer intuitive interactions, particularly for individuals with limited digital literacy. However, their real-world impact, usability, and ethical considerations in social care remain underexplored.

objectiveThis scoping review aims to synthesize existing literature on the implementation, evaluation, and impact of conversational AI systems within social care settings for older adults. The review will identify best practices, current gaps, and future directions for research and implementation. Key research questions include the following: how are conversational systems implemented on a technical level, and how do older adults and their support systems use them in a social care context? What methods are used to evaluate acceptability, usability, and the impact of broad well-being in the context of older adults' social care? and What are conversational technologies' acceptability, usability, and well-being impact in the context of older adults' social care?

methodsThe review will follow the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews) and Population, Concept, and Context (PCC) frameworks. A systematic search will be conducted across five databases (IEEE, Web of Science, PubMed, ACM, and Scopus) for English-language articles published from 2019 onward. Studies will be included if they empirically examine conversational systems' implementation, evaluation, or impact for older adults (aged ≥55 years) within a social care context. Two independent reviewers will screen articles and extract data. A descriptive analysis will then categorize findings across key domains such as accessibility, usability, ethical considerations, and well-being outcomes.

resultsThe results will be included in the scoping review, which began in March 2025. The analysis is underway and is expected to be completed and submitted for publication by September 2025.

conclusionsThis scoping review will provide an overview of the role of conversational AI in social care, highlighting both opportunities and challenges in implementation. By synthesizing existing research, the review will inform future developments in the use of conversational agents to improve social inclusion, engagement, and well-being among older adults. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/72310.

Indexed as

Artificial IntelligenceCommunicationAgedHumansScoping Reviews as Topicconversational AIolder adultssocial caresocial isolationusability

Identifiers

PMID40638917
PMCPMC12290423

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.