The benefits of and barriers to using a social robot PARO in care settings: a scoping review

Lillian Hung,Mario Gregorio,Christine Wallsworth,Andy Au-Yeung,Habib Chaudhury,Jim Mann,Annette Berndt,Evan Woldum,Cindy Liu,Neil Horne

doi:10.1186/s12877-019-1244-6

Abstract

BackgroundGiven the complexity of providing dementia care in hospitals, integrating technology into practice is a high challenge and an important opportunity. Although there are a growing demand and interest in using social robots in a variety of care settings to support dementia care, little is known about the impacts of the robotics and their application in care settings, i.e., what worked, in which situations, and how.MethodsScientific databases and Google Scholar were searched to identify publications published since 2000. The inclusion criteria consisted of older people with dementia, care setting, and social robot PARO.ResultsA total of 29 papers were included in the review. Content analysis identified 3 key benefits of and 3 barriers to the use of PARO. Main benefits include: reducing negative emotion and behavioral symptoms, improving social engagement, and promoting positive mood and quality of care experience. Key barriers are: cost and workload, infection concerns, and stigma and ethical issues. This review reveals 3 research gaps: (a) the users’ needs and experiences remain unexplored, (b) few studies investigate the process of how to use the robot effectively to meet clinical needs, and (c) theory should be used to guide implementation.ConclusionsMost interventions conducted have been primarily researcher-focused. Future research should pay more attention to the clinical needs of the patient population and develop strategies to overcome barriers to the adoption of PARO in order to maximize patient benefits.

Highlights

Given the complexity of providing dementia care in hospitals, integrating technology into practice is a high challenge and an important opportunity
This review aims to map out the empirical evidence on the key benefits of PARO, and to identify barriers that may impede the adoption of this social robot
The questions guiding this review are: What has been reported in the literature regarding the benefits of PARO in dementia care? What are the barriers to adopting PARO in the care setting? A scoping review is appropriate because it provides an overview of relevant literature in a field that is under-developed and to identify the key themes and contexts within a research topic [11]

Summary

Introduction

Given the complexity of providing dementia care in hospitals, integrating technology into practice is a high challenge and an important opportunity. The public expects healthcare organizations to keep pace with the changing societal needs and serve the elderly population with compassion and good care. Clinicians and care workers in hospitals and care facilities face challenges in providing good care for the growing numbers of people with dementia who may have complex medical and Researchers and scientists have been exploring ways to utilize robotic technology to aid in the care of older adults. A few robots (e.g., Physically-Assistive Robots, PARs) were made to perform physical tasks, such as body lifting. Others such as social robots (or called Socially-Assistive Robots, SARs) were created to support. There has been more research conducted on PARO compared to other animal-like robots [2]

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