Scholarly record

OPINIONS ABOUT ROBOTS IN CARE FOR OLDER PEOPLE

S. Tobis, C. Salatino, A. Tapus, A. Suwalska, K. Wieczorowska-Tobis

Abstract

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is an intermediate state between normal ageing and dementia. This means that subjects with MCI may get worse with the passage of time, and possibly progress to dementia. However, there are also individuals with sustained MCI whose cognitive impairment remains constant for many years, and even such who get better over time. The distinction of persons with different prognoses of MCI is a difficult task. As we do not know who is at risk, non-pharmacological interventions should be incorporated in all subjects with MCI in order to possibly postpone the progression to dementia. Within the ENRICHME project – Enabling Robot and assisted living environment for Independent Care and Health Monitoring of the Elderly (which receives funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 Programme, No: 643691C), a mobile service robot is used for long-term interaction and monitoring of an older person with MCI, in order to optimise their independence. The potential impact of such a solution on its users’ life was assessed among both caregivers and caretakers. We used focus group discussions to collect opinions about the robot-related requirements of older people and their professional caregivers. Three focus groups discussions were analysed: one organised in Italy which was composed of three older subjects attending a day-care centre and two health workers of the same centre, as well as two others organised in Poland (one with six older volunteers and one with six professional caregivers); all participants were willing to discuss the issues related to the introduction of a robot. The areas of interest were identified. In conclusion: based on the results of focus groups interviews it can be stated that the use of robots by community-dwelling older persons is generally accepted by all participating groups. The robots’ introduction should be preceded by competent pre-training. Future users should be involved in the process of customisation of proposed solutions, in accordance with actual needs. Ethical and practical issues should be taken into account.

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