Inspiration
When we began this project, we recognized the ongoing crisis pertaining to mental health support for post-secondary students. The current support offered by post-secondary institutions is insufficient as the data reflects some of the highest depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation rates to date. We knew that pulling together a project based on peer support would benefit not only the campus life but the greater community.
What it does
Brain Health is composed of a python bot that will hold a basic conversation with the user to determine their mental state. Once the bot notices certain trigger words that indicate that the user is struggling with their mental health, it will prompt them for their school and will then take them to a webpage for their city/school. This website contains mental health resources from their school and/or the town they are located. It will also provide them with a map of the area around the school to indicate the area where these resources are located.
How we built it
The bot was built using the Python ChatterBot libraries which allowed for the bot to maintain a basic conversation with the user. The frame used for the conversation was built using tkinter grids and templates so that users were not using the command shell for the entire conversation. The webpage was then created using Google Sites with the maps being implemented using HTML and calling the Google Maps API.
Challenges we ran into
While we worked on building our demo, we ran into various challenges that tested our problem-solving skills. Originally, we wanted to create a Google Chrome Extension ChatBot in Python to receive user inputs and then out a Google Map geolocation with nearby resources. When we tried, we ran into csp issues when trying to call the APIs from our HTML file. We also ran into issues with running Python through the extension since it is not a natively supported language for web browsers. Afterward, we decided to coordinate our demo through a Google Site, where the website will then direct users to a specific page correlated to their location. From there, resources will be listed for them.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
By the end of the hackathon, we became proud of our quick thinking and our ability to adapt. While running into various challenges, we stayed motivated and engaged with our original idea, never straying too far away from addressing the societal good of lack of mental health resources. Our website is user-friendly and functions how we intended.
What we learned
Through building Brain Health, we learned the importance of adaptability and recognizing that if your initial plan does not succeed, there is always an alternative solution. We also learned how to incorporate Python to an external Google website. As a team of novice coders, the hackHer hackathon was a great way for us to quickly learn various programs and how to work between multiple platforms.
What's next for Brain Health
Moving forward, we want Brain Health to be implemented on a chrome extension or an app so that users do not need to have python installed on their device in order to use it. This way, people on mobile devices could also make use of our program, instead of needing a laptop or computer. Another next step is to better the chatterbot's ability to hold complex conversations with users.
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