Self-Disclosure in Digital Healthcare: Enhancing User Engagement

In the growing digital healthcare field, enhancing user engagement is crucial for the sustained usage of e-intervention treatments. This study focuses on improving user engagement by investigating how users interact with agents in a conversational context. To achieve this, we examined communication techniques for building relationships in counseling and selected self-disclosure (SD) as our approach to assess its effectiveness. We created conversational scripts based on iCBT, a prevalent psychotherapy method in digital mental healthcare, and conducted an empirical study with 40 participants. Participants were randomly assigned to two groups: one that contained SD and one without. Our analysis focused on the user experience and its impact on engagement. The findings indicate that employing SD enhances user engagement, agent perception, and intention to use. Conversely, conversations without SD are perceived as task-focused, resulting in reduced engagement and intention to use. This study serves as a foundation for understanding the potential of SD and underscores the need for further exploration in diverse digital healthcare contexts.