BALANCING OBLIGATION AND AUTONOMY: A CHATBOT FOR FAMILY CAREGIVERS FACING LIFE-SUSTAINING TREATMENT DILEMMAS - Late Breaking - Community-Engaged Research

Sep 29, 2026

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Innovation in Aging 2025 presents an analysis framework combining bioethical principles to address the moral and emotional costs of choosing life-sustaining treatment. The work proposes a self-reflective AI chatbot prototype to help family caregivers articulate values, emotional reasoning, and internal conflicts before decisions are made. The system includes a DASS-21 emotional check-in, CBT-informed narrative prompts, and dynamically updated local welfare resources when financial strain is detected, using anonymous, non-directive interactions. A psychology-based assessment will measure stress, ethical conflict, and financial pressures, while qualitative research explores caregiver ethical and emotional patterns to reveal social and structural foundations in decision-making.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages1

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Approaches III

Late Breaking: Community-Engaged Research

Balancing Obligation and Autonomy

Chatbot Prototype and Assessment Plan

Innovation in Aging, 2025, Vol. 9, No. S2 1309 analysis framework that combines principal bioethics to address the moral and emotional costs of choosing life-sustaining treatment. Recognizing the need for early-stage emotional support before a decision is made, we propose a self-reflective AI chatbot prototype to help caregivers articulate their values, emotional reasoning, and potential areas of internal conflict. The chatbot includes a DASS-21-based emotional check-in, CBT-informed narrative prompts, and live-updating local welfare resource information when financial strain is detected. All interactions are anonymous and non-directive. The methodology includes a psychology-based assessment to measure stress levels, experiences of ethical conflict, and financial pressures. Qualitative research will be applied to explore family caregiver’s ethical and emotional pattern, aiming to reveal social and structural foundations in their decision-making process. This study offers aroadmap through an ethical lens for examining real world treatment decisions on behalf of patients. By addressing these systemic challenges and suggesting an intervention model, the research seeks to reduce the risk of unethical decisions among family caregivers, ultimately safeguarding patient rights. SESSION 9110 (PAPER) LATE BREAKING: COMMUNITY-ENGAGED RESEARCH APPROACHES III Abstract citation ID: igaf122.4360 BALANCING OBLIGATION AND AUTONOMY: A CHATBOT FOR FAMILY CAREGIVERS FACING LIFE-SUSTAINING TREATMENT DILEMMAS Seonghyun Ellin Jeong, University of Toronto at St. George Campus, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Family caregivers often expend excessive energy balancing care, personal life, and emotional stability, especially when illness limits the patient’s autonomy and intensifies ethical dilemmas surrounding the caregiver’s decision making. These dilemmas intensify in the absence of caregiver centered communication and support programs. This project seeks to fill the gap by proposing a self-reflective guiding AI chatbot designed to offer early stage emotional, ethical reflection and informative data before treatment decisions are made. This project builds on an ethical

FAQs

What problem does the project address for family caregivers facing life-sustaining treatment decisions?

Family caregivers must balance care duties, personal life, and emotional stability, and they encounter intensified ethical dilemmas—especially when the patient’s autonomy is limited and caregiver-centered support is lacking.

How does the proposed AI chatbot support caregivers before treatment decisions are made?

It uses self-reflective, non-directive interactions with a DASS-21-based emotional check-in and CBT-informed narrative prompts. When financial strain is detected, it also provides live-updating local welfare resource information.

What methods are planned to evaluate stress, ethical conflict, and related pressures?

The methodology includes a psychology-based assessment to measure stress levels, experiences of ethical conflict, and financial pressures. Qualitative research will further explore ethical and emotional patterns to uncover social and structural foundations in decision-making.

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by Franzy