Clinical Research Directory

The rule-based (scripted) SAFE.ai chatbot is a guided conversational tool built to provide structured, accurate, and consistent information to rural cancer patients and caregivers experiencing cancer-related financial toxicity. This chatbot is grounded in the Self-Advocacy for Financial Empowerment (SAFE) resource toolkit, which was co-developed with a community advisory board (CAB) composed of rural patients, caregivers, nurses, and financial navigation experts across HCI's five-state catchment area. All scripted responses reflect priorities identified during qualitative needs assessment sessions, ensuring that content is culturally aligned with rural patient experiences and real-world financial challenges. The chatbot follows a rule-based decision tree. Users progress through the conversation by selecting a response from a set of fixed options displayed on-screen. This ensures that all content is clinically vetted, safe, consistent, and aligned with evidence-based practices.

The hybrid SAFE.ai chatbot builds on the existing rule-based system by integrating a large language model (LLM) layer to support more flexible, open-ended, and conversational interactions. While the rule-based chatbot provides structured conversations through predefined content, the hybrid approach allows users to ask complex or personalized questions about financial toxicity. To ensure safety and accuracy, the hybrid chatbot is not allowed to generate responses from the open internet. By combining the consistency of rule-based logic with the adaptability of an LLM, the hybrid chatbot will enable users to ask follow-up questions, describe nuanced financial situations, request clarification in their own words, and receive more tailored guidance while still ensuring adherence to SAFE content.