Factors Affecting the Acceptability of Social Robots by Older Adults Including People with Dementia or Cognitive Impairment: A Literature Review

Abstract

Social robots are being developed to support care given to older adults (OA), people with dementia (PWD) and OA with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by facilitating their independence and wellbeing. The successful deployment of robots should be guided by knowledge of factors which affect acceptability. This paper critically reviews empirical studies which have explored how acceptability issues impact OA, PWD and OA with MCI. The aim is to identify the factors governing acceptability, to ascertain what is likely to improve acceptability and make recommendations for future research. A search of the literature published between 2005 and 2015 revealed a relatively small body of relevant work has been conducted focusing on the acceptability of robots by PWD or OA with MCI (n=21), and on acceptability for OA (n=23). The findings are presented using constructs from the Almere robot acceptance model. They reveal acceptance of robots is affected by multiple interacting factors, pertaining to the individual, significant others and the wider society. Acceptability can be improved through robots using humanlike communication, being personalised in response to individual users' needs and including issues of trust and control of the robot which relates to degrees of robot adaptivity. However, most studies are of short duration, have small sample sizes and some do not involve actual robot usage or are conducted in laboratories rather than in real world contexts. Larger randomised controlled studies, conducted in the context where robots will be deployed, are needed to investigate how acceptance factors are affected when humans use robots for longer periods of time and become habituated to them.

Care Workers’ Readiness for Robotization: Identifying Psychological and Socio-Demographic Determinants

“…Care workers and organizations are witnessing a pervasive and ongoing technological change. Care robots are gradually being introduced to care of older people with the aim to optimize and facilitate nursing work and also assist the older people themselves [1,2]. Due to this development, the staff's robotization readiness is a crucial factor determining the future care work [3,4].…”

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“…In this study, we investigated care workers' readiness for robotization (CRR) before robots are widely implemented in care work. 1 We analyzed psychological and socio-demographic determinants associated with CRR and evaluated whether this profile differs whether or not the respondent has prior firsthand experience with robots. Our study is guided by the theory of change readiness [24,27] and more precisely individual differences in technology change readiness.…”

Acceptability of Robots to Assist the Elderly by Future Designers: A Case of Guangdong Ocean University Industrial Design Students

“…In recent years, the rapid development of robot technology has aroused people's interest in using robots to care for and accompany the elderly [13][14][15][16][17]. Robots indeed play a vital role in helping the elderly [18].…”

Ethics of socially assistive robots in aged-care settings: a socio-historical contextualisation

“…To date, much empirical-based knowledge has been produced on different aspects of SAR use in aged care: what SARs are and how they can be used1; what their effectiveness and feasibility are6; what factors influence older adults’ acceptance of SARs7 and what older adults’ attitudes8 and caregivers’ views9 are towards SARs. Apart from this empirical research, ethical reflection on SARs has also accelerated.…”