Improving Interactions with Healthcare Robots: A Review of Communication Behaviours in Social and Healthcare Contexts

Abstract

A growing shortfall exists between the number of older individuals who require healthcare support and the number of qualified healthcare professionals who can provide this. Robots offer the potential to provide healthcare support to patients both at home and in healthcare settings. However, in order for robots to be successfully implemented in these environments, they need to behave in ways that are appropriate and acceptable to human users. One way to identify appropriate social behaviours for healthcare robots is to model their behaviour on interactions between healthcare professionals and patients. This literature review aimed to inform healthcare robotics research by highlighting communication behaviours that are important within the context of healthcare. The review focussed on relevant research in human clinical interactions, followed by a review of similar factors in social robotics research. Three databases were searched for terms relating to healthcare professional communication behaviours associated with patient outcomes. The results identified key communication behaviours that can convey clinical empathy, including humour, self-disclosure, facial expressions, eye gaze, body posture, and gestures. A further search was conducted to identify research examining these key behaviours within the context of social and healthcare robotics. Research into these factors in human–robot interaction in healthcare is limited to date, and this review provides a useful guide for future research.