Methodologies used to study the effectiveness of social robots in long‐term and community care settings

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundIn a search for innovative dementia care strategies, a new research field has been dedicated to design social robots for older adults with cognitive impairments and dementia in order to promote their quality of life through communication and social interactions. Although the results are promising, the quality of studies on effectiveness of social robots in elderly adults is still low due to several methodological limitations (1). Therefore, we aimed to review the methodologies used so far for conducting studies with social robots in long‐term and community care settings with people with dementia and elderly adults.MethodSearches in PubMed, Web of Science, PsycInfo, and Cinahl yielded 33 studies included in the final review after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. Reviews were conducted by two authors independently.ResultAcross 33 papers, 23 different social robots were examined on elderly adults and PwD, investigating acceptability, usability and effectiveness. A variety of study designs such as RCTs, mixed methods, cross‐sectional, cohort and quasi‐experimental designs were employed. Individual and group‐based interventions took place in private households, long‐term care facilities and laboratories during single or multiple sessions. Data were collected through observation, questionnaires, interviews and physiological tests. Most revealed improvements were found in mood, engagement and participation. However, improvements in quality of life, depression and cognition were not significant.ConclusionDespite the promising results, due to the insufficient methodology, failures and ambitious findings remain within the many aspects of the enquiry. Appropriate experimental designs such as RCTs with large sample sizes and individual intervention sessions might be established for effectiveness studies. For acceptability/usability studies, a cohort design with long‐term intervention would serve best. We also recommend a mixed‐method of data collection for any of three effectiveness, acceptability and usability related outcomes. Multiple interaction sessions running for more than one month might help researches to draw significant results and reveal the long‐term impact of the robots. Reference: Abdi J, Al‐Hindawi A, Ng T, Vizcaychipi MPJBo. Scoping review on the use of socially assistive robot technology in elderly care. 2018;8(2):e018815.