Lounging with robots – social spaces of residents in care : a comparison trial
Date
2016Citation:
Peri, K., Kerse, N., Broadbent, E., Jayawardena, C., Kuo, T., Datta, C., Stafford, R., & MacDonald, B. (2016). Lounging with robots – social spaces of residents in care: A comparison trial. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 35(1), pp.E1-E6. doi:10.1111/ajag.12201Permanent link to Research Bank record:
https://hdl.handle.net/10652/3681Abstract
Aims:
To investigate whether robots could reduce resident sleeping and stimulate activity in the lounges of an older persons’ care facility.
Methods:
Non-randomised controlled trial over a 12-week period. The intervention involved situating robots in low-level and high-dependency ward lounges and a comparison with similar lounges without robots. A time sampling observation method was utilised to observe resident behaviour, including sleep and activities over periods of time, to compare interactions in robot and no robot lounges.
Results:
The use of robots was modest; overall 13% of residents in robot lounges used the robot. Utilisation was higher in the low-level care lounges; on average, 23% used the robot, whereas in high-level care lounges, the television being on was the strongest predictor of sleep.
Conclusion:
This study found that having robots in lounges was mostly a positive experience. The amount of time residents slept during the day was significantly less in low-level care lounges that had a robot.