Factors Contributing to Korean Older Adults’ Acceptance of Assistive Social Robots

Abstract

This study investigated the factors contributing to older adults’ acceptance of assistive social robots. A survey was conducted to find factors explaining and predicting older adults’ acceptance behavior of assistive social robots. Three factors of older adults’ needs for assistive social robots were found (advanced needs, social needs, and physiological needs) which integrated Maslow’s five levels of basic human needs. According to older adults’ self-reported scores, the most important needs were physiological needs, followed by advanced needs and social needs. A regression analysis showed that the advanced needs and social needs significantly influence older adults’ use intention of assistive social robots. The results can assist in the future design of assistive social robot functions and features targeting the older population.

Comparing Older Parents’ and Adult Children’s Fear of Falling and Perceptions of Age-Friendly Home Modification: An Integration of the Theories of Planned Behavior and Protection Motivation

“…Adult children were more likely to fear their parents' falls than older parents were to fear their own. The relatively low fear of falling among the older parents in this study could suggest that they perceive a fall as a minor issue, even though 60.5% of Korean adults aged ≥65 years have experienced falls [7]. While both the older-parent and adult-children groups' attitudes toward AFHM were positive, the adult children seemed much more intent on choosing AHFM than the older parents, which was the greatest difference among all the variables in this study.…”

“…Adult children were more likely to fear their parents' falls than older parents were to fear their own. The relatively low fear of falling among the older parents in this study could suggest that they perceive a fall as a minor issue, even though 60.5% of Korean adults aged ≥65 years have experienced falls [7]. While both the older-…”

“…Every year in the United States, 30% of individuals aged ≥65 years and 50% of individuals aged ≥80 years experience falls [5]. In South Korea, the fastest-aging country in the world [6], 60.5% of people aged ≥65 years fall in their homes [7]. An unsafe living environment increases the risk of falls and reduces physical activity levels as a result of an increased fear of falls, which directly restricts successful aging in place (i.e., remaining in the current housing for as long as possible) [8,9].…”