Humanoid robot intervention vs. treatment as usual for loneliness in long-term care homes: Study protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial

Lavin, Paola; Lesage, Myriam; Monroe, Edward; Kanevsky, M. B.; Gruber, Johanna; Cinalioglu, Karin; Rej, Soham; Sekhon, Harmehr

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1003881

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Alligned with Lavin et al (Lavin et al 2022), our study participants also highlighted the emotional challenges older adults could face when having social robots in their home settings. Previous studies show that older adults pointed out the feeling of loneliness when their family was not around Broekens et al (2009).…”

Section: Tensions Between Trust and Independencementioning

confidence: 59%

Exploring the Potential of Social Robots in Supporting Home Medication Management

Ahmad,

Toro,

Dias

et al. 2023

Electronic Workshops in Computing

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Taking medications as prescribed can be difficult, especially for older adults who often need to remember multiple doses. While technology and other interventions exist to help people and their caregivers with medication management, most of them are unreliable when dealing with complex medication regimens. Previous research shows that robots could provide reminders as well as social and emotional support, offering a promising alternative for assisting both older adults living independently and caregivers helping them manage complex medication regimens. In this paper, we explore how social robots could support homebased medication management. We present the results of 6 workshops conducted with 10 informal and 8 formal caregivers, and 10 interviews conducted with older adults to further understand their experiences and challenges with medication management and the potential role of robots to support them. We identify tensions between practical challenges of keeping robots in home settings (e.g., maintenance, cost) and their potential benefits supporting both older adults and caregivers (e.g., providing medication and emotional support, and monitoring patients). Based on our findings, we provide discuss several implications for the design of social robots that need to be taken into account before deploying robots in home settings.

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Section: Tensions Between Trust and Independencementioning

confidence: 59%

Exploring the Potential of Social Robots in Supporting Home Medication Management

Ahmad,

Toro,

Dias

et al. 2023

Electronic Workshops in Computing

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“…) Further, there is rising interest in technological innovations related to social robots (cf. Lavin, et al, 2022;Blindheim, Solberg, Hameed, & Alnes, 2022, etc. ) while Lapp, et al, (2022) for example provide an overview of studies focused on clinical decision support tools in elderly LTC homes.…”

Section: A Brief Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Market characteristics and entry strategy decision making: The market perspective of Croatian elderly care homes

Višić¹

2024

Strategic Management

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Background: Socio-demographic changes increase the need for long-term elderly care. Consequently, providing formal institutional service in elderly care homes is an interesting opportunity for entrepreneurs. However, the entry strategy decision is influenced by numerous external variables. Purpose: The main goal is to answer what determines market concentration as one of the most important market entry determinants. Study design/methodology/approach: A linear regression model has been formed and tested on the Croatian elderly care home market, observed on a county level, using data for 2021. Further, a cluster analysis, as a decision-support tool, has been made to assess market characteristics that are more likely to attract new entrants to the elderly care home market. Findings/conclusions: Results indicate that demand for long-term care services plays a significant role, and the market with more elderly will attract more competitors. When the level of GDP per capita and the unemployment rate are observed together, markets with stronger economies tend to attract entrepreneurs. In other words, it is more likely that someone will open an elderly care home in a densely populated county with individuals that can afford formal institutional long-term care for themselves or family members. Limitations/future research: The shortcomings are mainly related to the lack of data on prices and quality measures. Further, information on the number of beds in each elderly care home would enable an alternative calculation of the Herfindahl-Hirschman index, while data on service prices and structure of employees as a proxy for quality (medical and non-medical staff) would enable a more reliable comparative analysis of obtained results. Future studies on this subject include variables related to the portion of unemployed females in the market since female family members more often provide informal care, and at the same time, they are more likely to be employed in formal long-term care institutions.

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“…Loneliness can be addressed using different approaches; however, most of them require human resources. Humanoid robots can reduce negative emotions in humans, and several related research protocols have open access for the public 7 . Recent technologies could focus on human tasks performed by robots 8 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The presence of a robot in a close relationship reduces the hormonal changes associated with pain in a laboratory setting

Nakae,

Chang,

Kishimoto

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Human resources for healthcare management gradually fail to meet the demands because of an aging population. Pain is one of the most unpleasant sensations, and chronic pain is particularly difficult to manage. Loneliness is one of the key factors that worsens pain symptoms. Communication robots are used for smooth human communication. This study aimed to investigate whether communication robots would alter human pain perception via hormonal changes. Nineteen healthy participants experienced experimental pain before and after communicating with a robot named Moffly. Blood samples were collected to assess the hormonal levels. Pain was evaluated using the Short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire and Visual Analogue Scale. Furthermore, the participants’ mood and mental status were assessed by several questionnaires, including the Profile of Mood States 2nd Edition, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Self-Rating Depression Scale. Subjective pain evaluation by the Visual Analogue Scale and the Short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire showed a significant decrease in pain in the robotic-communication condition than that in the control condition, accompanied by changes in the patterns of growth hormone, oxytocin, and estrogen. Depression and anxiety scores questionnaires also showed significant improvement after the experiment compared to before starting the experiment. The communication robots altered the participants’ pain perception, accompanied by changes in the growth hormone, oxytocin, dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate, estrogen, and cortisol. Depression and anxiety improved after the intervention. This finding may reflect that not only humans but also robots can relieve human pain by suppressing factors that would exert a negative effect on pain perception, such as loneliness. Robots may be able to take over human functions, especially in the area of time-consuming cognitive behavioral therapy.

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Humanoid robot intervention vs. treatment as usual for loneliness in long-term care homes: Study protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial

Cited by 6 publications

References 23 publications

Exploring the Potential of Social Robots in Supporting Home Medication Management

Exploring the Potential of Social Robots in Supporting Home Medication Management

Market characteristics and entry strategy decision making: The market perspective of Croatian elderly care homes

The presence of a robot in a close relationship reduces the hormonal changes associated with pain in a laboratory setting

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