Teens with T1D have long grappled with higher rates of psychological distress than their general peers, a challenge further compounded by the hurdles posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The aim of the project is to provide a tool to improve the wellbeing of adolescents with type 1 diabetes, in the hope that the digital experience provided is a supplementary resource to provide coping skills specific to the challenges that adolescents with type 1 diabetes experience.

Commissioned as part of the University of Auckland’s ongoing research studies into diabetes in teenagers, this project exemplifies the remarkable potential of combining technology with a deep understanding of users’ needs and emotional states.

Meet COMPASS, a self-compassion chatbot that lives inside a progressive web app (PWA).

COMPASS serves as a personalised support system, offering tailored strategies to help adolescents overcome their unique challenges. It acts as a daily emotional check-in delivered via a Progressive Web App experience, and is a guide for diabetes management, featuring 14 customised interaction modules.

Each module is completed through a chatbot, which utilises native language interpretation to understand not only the words used but also the sentiment attached to a sentence. Based on the sentiment expressed by the participant, whether it is negative or positive the chatbot provides different responses and paths for the conversation to follow. This approach allows for personalised interactions and tailored responses within the app, taking into account the emotional state of the participant.