Dare to Care Long-Term: Social Robots in Elderly Care

Deployment of social robots in real-world contexts is increasingly finding its way into the social robotics field. This study explores the deployment of social robots in elderly care, focusing on the long-term use, while involving the healthcare professionals and elderly residents of care facility in different phases of the research. We investigated their needs and requirements, development of tailored applications, and evaluate the acceptance and sustainability of social robots in care facilities. Using the CFIR framework, we noted strong organizational support but the results showed the need for ongoing training of the care professionals and realistic expectation setting regarding the use of the social robot. The findings suggest that social robots have high acceptance, but conflicting interests can arise between the healthcare professionals and the residents of the care facility. Long-term studies are crucial for understanding the impact and to address the practical and technical challenges that emerged from different CFIR domains. Future research should address the long-term effects and the different domains of the CFIR framework to get an in-depth overview of the use of social robots in institutional care settings.