A Long-Term Autonomous Robot at a Care Hospital: A Mixed Methods Study on Social Acceptance and Experiences of Staff and Older Adults

Abstract

Robot technology could be a future means to ameliorate predicted staff shortage in elder care due to the current demographic change. This study focuses on the evaluation of a long-term autonomous robot that was deployed in a real-world scenario at a care facility for older adults with severe multimorbidity and dementia. Social acceptance and user experience were assessed using a mixed-method design consisting of observations (12 h), ten interviews and 70 questionnaires with members of staff. Findings show that the interacting modalities have to meet the very needs of specific end-user groups and that the perceived utility of a robot is very much tied to its tasks and proper functioning. Social acceptance was ambivalent. On one hand the robot was integrated into daily routines, but on the other hand staff was not willing to share their work space with a robotic aid and saw the introduction of robots in eldercare as an inevitable development. Findings on user experience showed that staff and older adults were interested in and excited about the robot. Still it is necessary to equip the robot with meaningful communication abilities as well as cues that enhance the predictability of its behavior.