Investigation of a Web-Based Explainable AI Screening for Prolonged Grief Disorder

Losing a loved one through death is known to be one of the most challenging life events. To help the bereaved and their therapists monitor and better understand the factors that contribute to Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD), we co-designed and studied a web-based explainable AI screening system named “Grief Inquiries Following Tragedy (GIFT).” We used an initial iteration of the system to collect PGD-related data from 611 participants. Using this data, we developed a model that could be used to screen and explain the different factors contributing to PGD. Our results showed that a Random Forest model using Bereavement risk and outcome features performed best in detecting PGD (AUC=0.772), with features such as a negative intepretation of grief and the ability to integrate stressful life events contributing strongly to the model. Afterwards, five grief experts were asked to provide feedback on a mock-up of the results generated by the GIFT model, and discuss the potential value of the explanatory AI model in real-world PGD care. Overall, the grief experts were generally receptive towards using such a tool in a clinical setting and acknowledged the benefit of offering a personalized result to the users based on the explainable AI model. Our results also showed that, in addition to the explainability of the model, the grief experts also preferred a more “empathetic” and “actionable” AI system, especially, when designing for patient end-users.