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Social robots in care for older adults: a non-pharmacological option for the improvement of mental functioning?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2023

S. Tobis ,
J. Piasek ,
K. Wieczorowska-Tobis  and
A. Suwalska
S. Tobis*
Affiliation:
Department of Occupational Therapy, Poznan University of Medical Sciences
J. Piasek
Affiliation:
Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence, Poznan University of Technology
K. Wieczorowska-Tobis
Affiliation:
Geriatrics Unit, Chair of Palliative Medicine
A. Suwalska
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health, Chair of Psychiatry, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

With the rapid ageing of societies in Europe and worldwide, the issues of social functioning and mental well-being of older adults gain importance and call for effective care solutions. Among the non-pharmacological options, modern technologies are a promising direction. The use of humanoid social robots, at least in selected areas of care for community-dwelling older people, is one of the possibilities to cope with both their mental problems and the increasing shortage of qualified caregivers.

Objectives

We thus investigated which prospective areas of care are scored best by older subjects and their professional caregivers.

Methods

Opinions of older people (60+; no severe cognitive impairment), living in the community, and their professional caregivers about a robot in care for older adults were collected using the mixed-methodology Users’ Needs, Requirements and Abilities Questionnaire (UNRAQ), after a 90-150 minute interaction with the TIAGo robot (PAL Robotics, Spain).

Results

The robot as a companion of an older person was scored better by older adults than caregivers (p<0.01). Similar results were obtained for the statements The robot could decrease the sense of loneliness and improve the mood of the elderly person (p<0.01), The robot should detect the owner’s mood (p<0.05), and The robot should accompany the owner in everyday activities (p<0.01).

Conclusions

Our results, reflecting the opinions and preferences of various stakeholders, indicate a high general acceptance of a robot in care for older people. The indication of best-scored areas provides clues for the robot’s designers as well as those involved in the implementation of robotic solutions in care and their introduction into the lives of older adults.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 66 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 31st European Congress of Psychiatry , March 2023 , pp. S943
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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