To describe home care professionals' individual experiences of the implementation, use and competence needs of a robot for medication management in older people's home care.

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Home care professionals' experiences of successful implementation, use and competence needs of robot for medication management in Finland

Automation and Public Service Values in Human Resource Management

<sec> <title>BACKGROUND</title> Various technological interventions have been proposed and studied to address the growing demand for care of residents in assisted living facilities, in which a preexisting shortage of professional caregivers has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Care robots are one such intervention with the potential to improve both the care of older adults and the work life of their professional caregivers. However, concerns about efficacy, ethics, and best practices in the applications of robotic technologies in care settings remain. </sec> <sec> <title>OBJECTIVE</title> This scoping review aimed to examine the literature on robots used in assisted living facilities and identify gaps in the literature to guide future research. </sec> <sec> <title>METHODS</title> On February 12, 2022, following the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews) protocol, we searched PubMed, CINAHL Plus with Full Text, PsycINFO, IEEE Xplore digital library, and ACM Digital Library using predetermined search terms. Publications were included if they were written in English and focused on the use of robotics in assisted living facilities. Publications were excluded if they did not provide peer-reviewed empirical data, focused on user needs, or developed an instrument to study human-robot interaction. The study findings were then summarized, coded, and analyzed using the Patterns, Advances, Gaps, Evidence for practice, and Research recommendations framework. </sec> <sec> <title>RESULTS</title> The final sample included 73 publications from 69 unique studies on the use of robots in assisted living facilities. The findings of studies on older adults were mixed, with some studies suggesting positive impacts of robots, some expressing concerns about robots and barriers to their use, and others being inconclusive. Although many therapeutic benefits of care robots have been identified, methodological limitations have weakened the internal and external validity of the findings of these studies. Few studies (18/69, 26%) considered the context of care: most studies (48/69, 70%) collected data only on recipients of care, 15 studies collected data on staff, and 3 studies collected data on relatives or visitors. Theory-driven, longitudinal, and large sample size study designs were rare. Across the authors’ disciplines, a lack of consistency in methodological quality and reporting makes it difficult to synthesize and assess research on care robotics. </sec> <sec> <title>CONCLUSIONS</title> The findings of this study call for more systematic research on the feasibility and efficacy of robots in assisted living facilities. In particular, there is a dearth of research on how robots may change geriatric care and the work environment within assisted living facilities. To maximize the benefits and minimize the consequences for older adults and caregivers, future research will require interdisciplinary collaboration among health sciences, computer science, and engineering as well as agreement on methodological standards. </sec> 

Robots in Assisted Living Facilities: Scoping Review (Preprint)

Background Various technological interventions have been proposed and studied to address the growing demand for care of residents in assisted living facilities, in which a preexisting shortage of professional caregivers has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Care robots are one such intervention with the potential to improve both the care of older adults and the work life of their professional caregivers. However, concerns about efficacy, ethics, and best practices in the applications of robotic technologies in care settings remain. Objective This scoping review aimed to examine the literature on robots used in assisted living facilities and identify gaps in the literature to guide future research. Methods On February 12, 2022, following the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews) protocol, we searched PubMed, CINAHL Plus with Full Text, PsycINFO, IEEE Xplore digital library, and ACM Digital Library using predetermined search terms. Publications were included if they were written in English and focused on the use of robotics in assisted living facilities. Publications were excluded if they did not provide peer-reviewed empirical data, focused on user needs, or developed an instrument to study human-robot interaction. The study findings were then summarized, coded, and analyzed using the Patterns, Advances, Gaps, Evidence for practice, and Research recommendations framework. Results The final sample included 73 publications from 69 unique studies on the use of robots in assisted living facilities. The findings of studies on older adults were mixed, with some studies suggesting positive impacts of robots, some expressing concerns about robots and barriers to their use, and others being inconclusive. Although many therapeutic benefits of care robots have been identified, methodological limitations have weakened the internal and external validity of the findings of these studies. Few studies (18/69, 26%) considered the context of care: most studies (48/69, 70%) collected data only on recipients of care, 15 studies collected data on staff, and 3 studies collected data on relatives or visitors. Theory-driven, longitudinal, and large sample size study designs were rare. Across the authors’ disciplines, a lack of consistency in methodological quality and reporting makes it difficult to synthesize and assess research on care robotics. Conclusions The findings of this study call for more systematic research on the feasibility and efficacy of robots in assisted living facilities. In particular, there is a dearth of research on how robots may change geriatric care and the work environment within assisted living facilities. To maximize the benefits and minimize the consequences for older adults and caregivers, future research will require interdisciplinary collaboration among health sciences, computer science, and engineering as well as agreement on methodological standards.

Robots in Assisted Living Facilities: Scoping Review

Due to serious challenges in the healthcare sector, high expectations are placed on the use of assistive robotics. However, only a few systems are currently commercially available. Key challenges in the automation of care activities concern the identification and robust mediation of medical and nursing standards as well as the distribution of agency between caregivers, robots, and patients. With regard to successful mediation of this relational framework, this research aims to identify (1) prerequisites for the implementation and use of robots, (2) potential areas of application as well as ethical considerations, and, finally, (3) requirements for the design of human–robot interactions (HRI) within inpatient elderly care settings. Using a qualitative research approach with semi-structured interviews, a total of 19 health professionals were interviewed in two constitutive studies. The results illustrate that robotic assistance is expected to provide potential relief in various application areas. At the same time, there was a great need for measures that support professionals in their responsibility for the care process and consider the professional values of care in the interpersonal relationship. To ensure high acceptance and use of robotics in care, its capabilities, role models, and agency must be increasingly aligned to professional standards and values.

/pdf/caregivers-perspectives-on-human-robot-collaboration-in-3t4gy2ca.pdf

Caregivers’ Perspectives on Human–Robot Collaboration in Inpatient Elderly Care Settings

Despite the lively discussion on the pros and cons of using robots in health care, little is still known about how caregivers are affected when robots are introduced in their work environment. The ...

Marcus Persson

Papers

Caregivers’ use of robots and their effect on work environment – a scoping review