Perceptions of socially assistive robots among community-dwelling older adults

Camp, Nicola, Nuovo, Alessandro Di, Hunter, Kirsty, Johnston, Julie, Zecca, Massimiliano, Lewis, Martin and Magistro, Daniele (2022) Perceptions of socially assistive robots among community-dwelling older adults. In, Cavallo, Filippo, Cabibihan, John-John, Fiorini, Laura, Sorrentino, Alessandra, He, Hongsheng, Liu, Xiaorui, Matsumoto, Yoshio and Sam Ge, Shuzhi (eds.) Social Robotics, ICSR 2022. (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNAI), 13818) 14th International Conference on Social Robotics (13/12/22 - 16/12/22) 540–549. (doi:10.1007/978-3-031-24670-8_48).

Abstract

Socially assistive robots (SARs) have many potential benefits for older adults, such as reducing loneliness and assisting with healthcare interventions. However, little is known about how they are perceived by older adults. This study aimed to increase this understanding by using online, semi-structured interviews with community dwelling older adults. Acceptance of SARs was higher in those aged ≥ 70 years when compared to those aged 55–69 years. Declining health status was a common influencing factor, with company and assistance with daily activities highlighted as potential advantages. However, there were concerns among those aged ≥ 70 years that the introduction of SARs may lead to increased sedentary behaviour and a reduction in physical human contact. Overall, SARs are perceived to be useful among older adults, and developers should be aware that willingness to engage with this type of technology is dependent on several factors such as age and circumstance.

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Contributors

Author: Daniele Magistro

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