Healthy AdultNCT07707466
Social Robots Empowering Patients
A study testing robot-guided curriculum and Video-guided curriumlum in people with Healthy Adult and Chinese, run by Northwestern University at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether a social robot can effectively support digital-literacy learning among low-income Chinese immigrants, particularly in the context of using the MyChart health portal. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Healthy Adult, Chinese
- What is being tested?
- robot-guided curriculum and Video-guided curriumlum
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 50 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 30 Jan 2026to 31 Jul 2026
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Age: 18 years or older
- Race: Self-identified as Chinese
- Zip codes: Reside in one of the eight Chicago zip codes corresponding to Chinatown's geographical boundaries
- Language: Speak Cantonese, Mandarin, or Taishanese fluently
Who cannot join
- Prior experience using the MyChart mobile app.
- Inability to communicate in Mandarin, Cantonese, or Taishanese, sufficiently to complete consent or study tasks.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: Social Robots for Enhancing Older Adults' Digital Literacy
The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether a social robot can effectively support digital-literacy learning among low-income Chinese immigrants, particularly in the context of using the MyChart health portal. The study aims to understand whether robot-guided digital literacy education leads to improved engagement, comprehension, and confidence compared to a standard educational video.
Read the detailed description
This project aims to develop a social robot that can enhance digital literacy of low-income Chinese immigrants in the Chicago area to enhance their health literacy and health management skills.
As healthcare systems are increasingly becoming digitalized (e.g., patient portals and digital technologies to facilitate appointment scheduling, health tracking, medication adherence, and billing), engagement with technology has become increasingly important in healthcare, and it is important for patients to acquire digital literacy to effectively engage with digital health tools to access healthcare. Yet, many people, especially those who also experience a language barrier, experience challenges in navigating these digital health technologies to access appropriate care. Specifically, low-income Chinese immigrants experience barriers in accessing health information due to their low digital literacy, since most hospitals/clinics use digitized tools (e.g., MyChart health portal) to inform patients about their health records and to communicate with patients.
- Conditions
- Healthy Adult, Chinese
- Being tested
- robot-guided curriculum, Video-guided curriumlum
- Keywords
- digital literacy, health literacy
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
robot-guided curriculumOther
Robot-guided digital literacy curriculum to complete MyChart tasks such as scheduling, messaging, and viewing results using the mock app.
Video-guided curriumlumOther
Video-guided digital literacy curriculum to complete MyChart tasks such as scheduling, messaging, and viewing results using the mock app.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Robot-guided | Other | Robot-guided digital literacy curriculum for MyChart training, delivered via a Misty social robot. Receives: Other: robot-guided curriculum |
| Video-guided | Other | Educational video curriculum for MyChart training, delivered via an educational video. Receives: Other: Video-guided curriumlum |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Quantitative Outcomes
Changes in digital-literacy scores from pre-test to post-test to show participants' ability to complete MyChart tasks (e.g., scheduling, messaging, viewing results) using the mock app, and their self-reported engagement, trust, and usability ratings for the intervention.
Measured: From enrollment to the completion of the guided curriculum in about one hour.
Secondary outcomes (1)
Qualitative outcomes
Improvements in confidence using MyChart-like portals. Themes emerging from post-study semi-structured interviews regarding barriers, facilitators, and perceptions of robot-mediated teaching.
Measured: From enrollment to the completion of the guided curriculum in about one hour.
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted16 Jul 2026
- Study start30 Jan 2026
- Primary completion31 Jul 2026
- Study completion31 Jul 2026
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Healthy AdultStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Northwestern UniversityThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 50 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Northwestern University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Cancer Institute (NCI), Purdue University
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Melissa Simon, Northwestern University
- Investigators
- Melissa Simon, Principal investigator, Northwestern University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07707466
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- STU00223333
- Other IDs
- 5U19CA291404-02
- Status last verified
- Aug 2026
- First submitted
- 7 Jul 2026
- Last updated
- 17 Aug 2026
- Results posted
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 17 Aug 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Social Robots for Enhancing Older Adults' Digital Literacy
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07707466
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- STU00223333
- Conditions
- Healthy Adult, Chinese
- Keywords
- digital literacy, health literacy
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 50 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Northwestern UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Cancer Institute (NCI), Purdue University
- Study start
- 30 Jan 2026 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 31 Jul 2026 (actual)
- Study completion
- 31 Jul 2026 (actual)
- First posted
- 16 Jul 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether a social robot can effectively support digital-literacy learning among low-income Chinese immigrants, particularly in the context of using the MyChart health portal. The study aims to understand whether robot-guided digital literacy education leads to improved engagement, comprehension, and confidence compared to a standard educational video.
Detailed description
This project aims to develop a social robot that can enhance digital literacy of low-income Chinese immigrants in the Chicago area to enhance their health literacy and health management skills.
As healthcare systems are increasingly becoming digitalized (e.g., patient portals and digital technologies to facilitate appointment scheduling, health tracking, medication adherence, and billing), engagement with technology has become increasingly important in healthcare, and it is important for patients to acquire digital literacy to effectively engage with digital health tools to access healthcare. Yet, many people, especially those who also experience a language barrier, experience challenges in navigating these digital health technologies to access appropriate care. Specifically, low-income Chinese immigrants experience barriers in accessing health information due to their low digital literacy, since most hospitals/clinics use digitized tools (e.g., MyChart health portal) to inform patients about their health records and to communicate with patients.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Robot-guided | Other | Other: robot-guided curriculumRobot-guided digital literacy curriculum for MyChart training, delivered via a Misty social robot. |
| Video-guided | Other | Other: Video-guided curriumlumEducational video curriculum for MyChart training, delivered via an educational video. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- Age: 18 years or older
- Race: Self-identified as Chinese
- Zip codes: Reside in one of the eight Chicago zip codes corresponding to Chinatown's geographical boundaries
- Language: Speak Cantonese, Mandarin, or Taishanese fluently
Key exclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Prior experience using the MyChart mobile app.
- Inability to communicate in Mandarin, Cantonese, or Taishanese, sufficiently to complete consent or study tasks.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| robot-guided curriculumRobot-guided digital literacy curriculum to complete MyChart tasks such as scheduling, messaging, and viewing results using the mock app. | Other | Robot-guided |
| Video-guided curriumlumVideo-guided digital literacy curriculum to complete MyChart tasks such as scheduling, messaging, and viewing results using the mock app. | Other | Video-guided |
Primary outcome
Quantitative Outcomes
Time frame: From enrollment to the completion of the guided curriculum in about one hour.
Changes in digital-literacy scores from pre-test to post-test to show participants' ability to complete MyChart tasks (e.g., scheduling, messaging, viewing results) using the mock app, and their self-reported engagement, trust, and usability ratings for the intervention.
1 secondary outcome
Qualitative outcomes
Time frame: From enrollment to the completion of the guided curriculum in about one hour.
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 17 Aug 2026.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Melissa Simon principal investigator
Northwestern University
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing robot-guided curriculum and Video-guided curriumlum in people with Healthy Adult and Chinese, run by Northwestern University at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 17 Aug 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Quantitative Outcomes (time frame: From enrollment to the completion of the guided curriculum in about one hour.). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 17 Aug 2026; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 30 Oct 2026.