Prospects of Geriatric Nursing Application Based on Robot Technology

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of using intelligent robot based nursing practice as discussed in previous research and also, to propose directions for robot care for elders. Methods: For this study 28 previous researches using robots in health care field were reviewed and related research trends introduced. Results: Robot applications in the healthcare field were mainly for rehabilitation, surgery, interaction, and nursing assistance through robotics. Especially types of robot include pet type robots, humanoid robots, surgical robots, rehabilitation robots, robot suit and entertainment robots with monitors. The research participants were patients with dementia and institutionalized elderly people. It was found that a human-robot interaction was effective from physical, mental, emotional and social aspects. Conclusion: Robots can be used for various purposes such as nursing assistance, patient health promotion and education. It is necessary to reduce the human burden of care work using robots and to introduce robot care programs which can meet the needs of elders. Therefore, korean nurses should make efforts to change their practice to new geriatric nursing through repeated research based on the scientific data.

Social Values of Care Robots

“…Previous studies have reported that the care robot industry has a high growth potential. In order to realize their potential as a new industry, care robots should be marketed with high usability in order to reflect the close relationship between the product and the user, as well as the link between technology innovation and the environment and social systems, as realized through organizational innovation [ 3 , 25 ]. Organizational innovation is essential for the potential development of new industries [ 26 ].…”