Abstract
The use of technology has been increasing in health care settings. These health care technologies (e.g., avatar-assisted therapy) offer promising solutions to address accessibility among individuals who are facing mental health challenges. To increase awareness and encourage the use of these avatar-assisted therapies, two studies were conducted to determine the factors that could pose a barrier or an opportunity toward adopting such technology for mental health care interventions. The samples for these studies are individuals who are medically diagnosed patients. The sample for Study 1 was recruited from a crowdsourcing platform with screening questions that filter out suitable respondents. Study 1 tests a model that determines the role of mediators (trust and attitude) between the perceived usability of the avatar and an individual’s intention to use the avatar-assisted therapy. Study 2 is a proof of concept that serves as a program evaluation that validates the model and informs the use of avatar-assisted therapy. The sample for Study 2 was recruited from a local northwestern hospital. The results from the two studies show that individuals are open to using avatar-assisted therapy, but the content and the usability of the avatar need to meet their expectation for them to use the avatar-assisted therapy.