Role of Assistive Robots in the Care of Older People: Survey Study Among Medical and Nursing Students

Abstract

Background Populations are aging at an alarming rate in many countries around the world. There has been not only a decrease in the number of births and an increase in the percentage of older people, but also an increase in the number of people living alone. There is growing demand for specialist medical care and daily care with the number of people who can act as caregivers reducing. The use of assistive robots can, at least partially, solve these problems. Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the opinions of future health care professionals (medical and nursing students) regarding the use of assistive robots in the care of older people. Methods The study was conducted with a group of 178 students from Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznań, Poland (110 nursing students and 68 medical students), using the Users’ Needs, Requirements, and Abilities Questionnaire. Results The participants of this study believed that assistive robots should, first of all, remind older people to take medication regularly, ensure their safety, monitor their health status and environment, provide cognitive training, and encourage them to maintain physical activity. In the students’ opinion, the robot should not be an older person’s companion but only act as an assistant. Nursing students had significantly higher scores than medical students in several statements concerning everyday use of robots, including reminding about meals (P=.03), monitoring the environment (P=.001), providing advice about a healthy diet (P=.04), monitoring the intake of food and fluids (P=.02), and automatic “switch on” function (P=.02). Nursing students were more focused on the social functions of robots, including encouraging contact with friends (P=.003) and reducing the sense of loneliness and improving mood (P=.008). Medical students were more aware of privacy issues in the statement concerning the possibility of switching off the robot in specific situations (P=.01). Conclusions Our study revealed a generally positive attitude of future doctors and nurses toward assistive robots, which can have an impact on their acceptance by older adults. In the future, medical professionals could help their patients to choose the right robots (and necessary functions) that are best suited to their needs. However, this would require expanding the curriculum to include the issues of gerontechnology.

Companion robots for older adults: Rodgers’ evolutionary concept analysis approach

“…Furthermore, companion robots can improve healthcare outcomes and have economic effects. Economic effects, such as reduced hospitalization, healthcare costs, and individual and societal costs of caring, have already been reported [ 8 , 40 , 74 , 75 ].…”

“…In some cases, people soon lose interest in the non-living robot and its limited behavioral repertoire [ 53 ]. The benefits of robots for society and empowerment of older people must be contrasted against possible ethical concerns in the field around issues, such as deceit, infantilization, increased feeling of objectification or anxiety, loss of control and dignity, loss of privacy and personal freedom as well as reduced human contact and accountability [ 3 , 14 , 45 , 49 , 59 , 60 , 69 , 75 ]. Concerns included the loss of jobs and personal care, while perceived benefits included allowing staff to spend quality time with residents and helping residents with self-care [ 3 , 31 , 41 , 42 ].…”

“…Psychosocial and ethical issues, cost, safety issues, and intervention time may impede the broad use of technology in older age. Some ethical guidelines and practical comments are available for roboticists [ 45 , 59 , 75 ]. The summoning of an internal ethics board can help facilitate this process, especially where users’ dignity in connection with tasks the robot fulfills or interaction with a robot are concerned [ 59 ].…”

“…To avoid deception, informing older adults in a comprehensible way about the real capabilities and limitations of robots is essential [ 45 , 59 ]. Informed consent is one tool to address privacy issues [ 75 ], and no-go zones should be defined with users and caregivers before the actual deployment [ 59 ].…”

The Role of Socially Assistive Robots in the Care of Older People: To Assist in Cognitive Training, to Remind or to Accompany?

“…Our findings complement the results of previous studies on the perception of robots. Previous studies mainly focused on the general acceptance of the robot or the acceptance of its individual functions [67,72,[74][75][76]. Research to date has focused primarily on the acceptance of robots already produced [77] rather than the expectations of seniors or their caregivers regarding such devices, as in case of this study.…”