Decision-makers’ attitudes toward the use of care robots in welfare services

Outi Tuisku,Satu Pekkarinen,Helinä Melkas,Lea Hennala

doi:10.1007/s00146-022-01392-4

Outi Tuisku, Satu Pekkarinen + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-022-01392-4

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes of decision-makers toward the use of care robots in welfare services. We investigated their knowledge regarding the use of care robots in welfare services as well as their attitudes toward using robots in their own care and in the care of various user groups, for example, children, youths, and older people. We conducted an online survey with a range of Finnish decision-makers as respondents (N = 176). The respondents were divided into two groups: service actors (n = 104) and research and development (R&D) actors (n = 72). The respondents did not regard themselves as having much knowledge about robotics; however, the results showed that the R&D actors had more overall knowledge of the use of robots than the service actors. The R&D actors were found to be more willing to accept a robot as part of their own care as well as part of the care for various user groups. The contribution of this study is a better understanding of the views of the decision-makers who are or will be in charge of the acquisition of technological devices in welfare services.

Highlights

Technology such as care robots has been pictured as one solution to the growing shortage of care workers in welfare services, for example, in the care of the elderly (Maibaum et al 2021; Pirhonen et al 2019)
The respondents were selected from the identified decision-makers in the field of care robotics, including the service actors responsible for acquiring robots in welfare services and the research and development actors whose tasks are related to development work in the field of care robotics
This study investigated the attitudes of decision-makers toward the use of care robots in welfare services

Summary

Introduction

Technology such as care robots has been pictured as one solution to the growing shortage of care workers in welfare services, for example, in the care of the elderly (Maibaum et al 2021; Pirhonen et al 2019). Wu et al (2012) divide service robots into three categories: (1) monitoring robots (to help observe behavior and health), (2) assistive robots (to provide support to the individual and/or their caregiver in daily tasks), and (3) socially assistive robots (to provide companionship) Examples of these robots are telepresence robots (e.g., Double and Giraff), medicine-dispensing robots (e.g., Evondos), robotic walking aids (e.g., Lea), robotic spoons (e.g., Gyenno), exoskeletons for rehabilitation of the patient (e.g., Indego) or for supporting the care worker (e.g., Laevo, Auxivo), transportation robots for delivering meals and medicine (e.g., TUG), and social robots for therapy, entertainment, and communication (e.g., Paro, JustoCat, Zora, Pepper) (Niemelä et al 2021; Pirhonen et al 2019). This development from industrial robots to service robots has brought robots closer to people, with the development of robots that are able to assist people in a variety of tasks, such as indoor transportation (Severinson-Eklund et al 2003; Summerfield et al 2011)

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