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A LLM-Based Chatbot for Mindfulness Practice with Older Adults: A Development and Usability Study.

Lucy McCarren, Sanna Kuoppamäki

Studies in health technology and informatics May 15, 2025 DOI: 10.3233/SHTI250493 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Qualitative study Peer reviewed
Sample size 15
Population Older adults
Interventions Mindfulness app with recorded human guidance AI mindfulness coach
Duration Three weeks
Topics Meditation
Keywords Ai in healthcare Chatgpt Chatbot Large language models Digital health Mental health Older adults Wellness
Key findings Qualitative feedback from older adults using a mindfulness app identified key design themes—voice, personality, interactivity, and ease of use—that informed the development of a prototype AI mindfulness coach.

Abstract

This study explores the development and usability of a Large Language Model (LLM)-based chatbot designed to support mindfulness practice for older adults. In a pre-study, 15 older adults used a commercially available mindfulness app with recorded human guidance for three weeks. Qualitative feedback revealed key design themes including voice, personality, interactivity, and ease of use. Building on the findings of the pre-study, we developed a prototype AI mindfulness coach by fine-tuning OpenAI's ChatGPT on a custom dataset of mindfulness scripts. The AI coach was evaluated through participatory design workshops.

Comparable studies

Other qualitative studies on meditation, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists Western Buddhist meditation practitioners and experts in Theravāda, Zen, and Tibetan... 2017 Qualitative study with mixed-methods
The Effects of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction on Nurse Stress and Burnout Nurses in a hospital system 2004 Implementation study with mixed methods
An exploratory mixed methods study of the acceptability and effectiveness of mindfulness -based cognitive therapy for patients with active depression and anxiety in primary care Primary care patients with recurrent depression or recurrent depression and anxiety 2006 Exploratory mixed methods study n = 13
A qualitative study of mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy for depression Participants in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in a mental-health context 2001 Qualitative study n = 7
Effortless awareness: using real time neurofeedback to investigate correlates of posterior cingulate cortex activity in meditators' self-report Meditators 2013 Qualitative study using grounded theory methodology

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