The widespread floods of September 2024, the tornadoes in the Břeclav and Hodonín regions, and the extreme heatwaves of recent years. Natural disasters leave their mark not only on the landscape and property, but also on the mental well-being of those who have experienced them. Whilst emergency aid usually ceases once the immediate danger has passed, long-term consequences such as anxiety, fears of a recurrence and a loss of security often remain unaddressed without systematic support. A team from Palacký University in Olomouc is therefore developing the CLIMMAID app. In the form of an AI ‘consultant chatbot’, it aims to offer personalised support to those grappling with the psychological impacts of climate and environmental events. Dr Lukáš Novák from the Institute of Social Health at Palacký University in Olomouc, the project’s principal investigator, discusses how the idea of combining psychology, artificial intelligence and crisis intervention came about.
How can artificial intelligence help people with mental health difficulties and tailor support to the individual? It is precisely this question that a team of researchers from Palacký University in Olomouc and the VŠB – Technical University of Ostrava, who are behind the development of the CLIMMAID app, are focusing on. The initial thinking of the project’s principal investigator, Dr Lukáš Novák (CMTF UPOL), centred on how artificial intelligence could help people with mental health issues and how such support could be tailored to the individual. „I am interested in whether we could predict mental illness in a similar way to how we currently predict the weather, with a certain degree of uncertainty. And just as weather forecasts are more accurate in some parts of the world and less so in others, this could also work for people,” explains Novák. This question represents Novák’s broader, long-term research vision. CLIMMAID itself, however, focuses on a more practical task: personalising support based on information about a specific user and their current mental state. This line of research subsequently aligned with a call for proposals from the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic, which, in response to the growing impacts of climate and environmental change, was seeking tools to assist the affected population. The Olomouc-Ostrava team’s application was successful, securing funding for an interdisciplinary project that combines psychology, behavioural sciences, data analytics and AI.
Currently, the app features a fully functional onboarding process – an introductory section that collects the basic information needed to personalise subsequent support. A key component, currently being tested, is the so-called “mood tracker”, which asks the user about their current mental state and mood several times a day via a short questionnaire. „It’s incredibly important, because people differ dramatically from one another in terms of which mental states can influence others. For me, a poor night’s sleep might precede a feeling of stress, but that might not be the case for you,“ explains Novák, adding that without taking these individual differences into account, it is not possible to personalise support effectively.
Data from both the onboarding process and the mood tracker is then to be analysed by artificial intelligence in the context of information about the user in question. According to Novák, this process can be likened to the prescribing of medicines in conventional medicine. „We know which antibiotics are available, what effects they have, and how long it takes for them to work. The language model takes in information about the problems the user is facing, assesses their condition throughout the day and selects the most appropriate intervention from a catalogue,” he explains, describing how the application works. The project thus builds on the wider trend towards personalised care in psychotherapy and medicine – that is, the effort to tailor support to the needs of the individual.
"The language model takes in information about the problems the user is facing, assesses their state throughout the day and selects the intervention from the catalogue that best suits them.“
The Department of Psychiatry at Olomouc University Hospital is also involved in the development of CLIMMAID, acting as the application guarantor for the project. „One of the most likely scenarios is that psychologists and psychiatrists will recommend the app to people who have been affected by a natural disaster and are seeking help. In situations where waiting times are long, they can offer patients the chance to try it out,” explains Novák. The involvement of FNOL is also intended to help ascertain how the app could be put to good use in wider clinical practice once it is completed, for example as a supplementary tool for people waiting for professional help.
The team is also considering follow-up research. In collaboration with the University of Ulm, it is seeking funding for a follow-up project. This would spare users the need to complete questionnaires regularly – the model would only ask questions directly at moments of uncertainty; otherwise, it would attempt to estimate mood from data passively collected by the phone. According to Novák, a decision on funding for the follow-up project will be announced at the end of 2026.
The CLIMMAID app is expected to be available on both Google Play and the App Store in the future. Basic mental health monitoring should be available free of charge to all users. The advanced section of the app featuring a “consultant chatbot” may be subject to a charge following a trial period.
CLIMMAID – Development and research into the effectiveness of an AI application for mitigating the psychological impacts of natural and environmental events
The project is funded under the TA ČR SIGMA programme, Sub-objective 3 – Supporting the innovative potential of the social sciences, humanities and the arts (SHUV). The lead beneficiary is Palacký University in Olomouc; another project participant is the VŠB – Technical University of Ostrava; and the application guarantor is Olomouc University Hospital. Implementation period: 1 September 2025 – 31 December 2027. Principal investigator for UP: Mgr. et Mgr. Lukáš Novák, Ph.D. – Institute of Social Health, Palacký University (OUSHI).
