Working with Robotic Animals in Dementia Care: The Significance of Caregivers’ Competences

Abstract

Robotic animals are increasingly discussed as a solution to challenges connected to the aging population and limited resources in care. While previous research focuses on the robots’ effect on the patients’ well-being, there is a general lack of knowledge regarding the hands-on experience of caregivers’ use of robots. Therefore, the aim of the study is to explore the competences that caregivers draw upon when facilitating interaction between residents and robots. The study was conducted through ethnographic observations and interviews with caregivers at dementia care homes in Sweden. The notion of ‘competence’ is understood as knowledge about the ways of working and social norms that are valued within a community of practice, which members develop through engagement in the community. The findings show that caregivers’ use of robotic animals as caregiving tools rests on embodied, social, and ethical competences.

Companion Robots for Older Adults : A Mixed-Methods Approach to Deployments in Care Homes

“…Therefore, the staff played a crucial role in identifying agitation and using the companion robot as an active caring intervention. A recent study showed that care staff's work with companion robots requires embodied, social, and ethical competence (M. Persson et al, 2023), which is in line with the results of our work.…”

“…their care was mediated through the robot by providing a distraction that they themselves had a hard time offering. The observations presented in the thesis have also been seen in a recent study that discussed how care staff's work with companion robots requires embodied, social, and ethical competence (M. Persson et al, 2023). Regarding the ethical concerns raised by several roboethicist (e.g.…”

“…Decision makers also seemed to trivialise the extra emotional labour of 'playing house' with the cat and dog robot that the staff was doing daily, as well as the new care routines that need to be established and maintained (cf. M. Persson et al, 2023).…”

Robotic misinformation in dementia care: emotions as sense-making resources in residents’ encounters with robot animals

“…In this paper we adopt a relational approach which involves understanding the residents’ use of robot animals in social situations that encompass material objects and other social subjects ( Robinson et al, 2016 ; DeFalco, 2020 ). Previous studies have shown that social robots demand involvement from care workers to engage users ( Chevallier, 2022 ; Persson et al, 2023 ). For instance, the care staff may need to participate in conversations ( Chang and Šabanović, 2015 ) to ensure that the robot is accessible at the right moment ( Jung et al, 2017 ; Moyle et al, 2018 ), and to “stage” it by carrying it in a particular manner, discussing it, and sometimes physically guiding users on how to handle it ( Pfadenhauer and Dukat, 2015 ).…”

“…In this regard, studies have shown how robot animals can serve as an “icebreaker” between staff and residents, with staff members often “joking and laughing” with residents about the robot ( Robinson et al, 2016 ). However, Chevallier (2022) also shows that forceful attempts to engage residents, including physical cues, can backfire and result in annoyance and anger (see also Persson et al, 2024 ).…”