We are developing a smartphone-based conversational agent intervention to provide information on COVID-19 vaccination among members of predominately African American churches. The intervention is based on the stages-of-change (transtheoretical) model, incoporating elements of motivational interviewing. The agent and its messaging are culturally tailored for members of the churches we are working with. The agent also counsels users on how to talk to their friends and family about vaccination.
This work is supported by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, and is a collaboration with Dr. Michael Paasche-Orlow (Tufts Medical Center), Andrea Parker (Georgia Tech), and the Black Ministerial Alliance Tenpoint in Boston.