Effectiveness of an Interactive Robot-Assisted Avatar Health Education Program on Knowledge and Health Literacy in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) poses significant health and economic challenges worldwide. Despite its prevalence, public awareness of the disease remains low. This study aimed to explore the effectiveness of an interactive robot-assisted avatar health education program in enhancing disease knowledge and health literacy among patients with CKD. In a quasi-experimental design, 30 patients were allocated to an experimental group (n = 14) receiving the intervention and a comparison group (n = 16) receiving usual care. The intervention involved a 12-unit program delivered via an interactive robot featuring medical avatars as health coaches. The information was gathered through structured and validated surveys, and assessments were carried out before and after the intervention. Of the 60 participants who consented to join the program, 30 completed the intervention and evaluations. By utilizing the generalized estimation equation (GEE) to scrutinize the pre-test and post-test outcomes, it was observed that CKD-specific disease knowledge and health literacy displayed noteworthy improvements in post-test after age adjustment. While the small sample size limits generalizability, findings suggest that interactive robot-assisted avatar programs can effectively enhance health literacy and disease knowledge in patients with CKD. Future research should explore long-term impacts and address implementation challenges in clinical settings.