Nurses' Evaluation of a Service Robot for Inpatient Care: Technology Acceptance Study

Area of Science:

• Robotics in Healthcare
• Nursing Technology Adoption
• Human-Robot Interaction

Background:

• Robotic systems integration in nursing is explored to address workload and staffing shortages.
• Nursing staff acceptance is crucial for successful implementation, yet their perspectives are often overlooked in R&D.
• Demographic shifts necessitate innovative solutions for patient care support.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate nursing staff's acceptance and intention to use a service robot for routine inpatient care tasks.
• To identify technology-specific and psychological factors influencing robot acceptance among nurses.
• To build upon a user-centered development approach for assistive technologies in healthcare.

Main Methods:

• 30 nurses evaluated a service robot in simulated inpatient care scenarios (information, item, and beverage delivery).
• The Technology Usage Inventory measured acceptance and intention to use; the General Attitudes Towards Robots Scale assessed general attitudes.
• Statistical analyses included Spearman rank correlations and Mann-Whitney U tests to examine relationships and differences.

Main Results:

• The service robot received positive ratings for usability, perceived usefulness, and accessibility.
• High intention to use was observed, positively correlating with usability, usefulness, and accessibility, and negatively with skepticism.
• Personal attitudes towards robots positively influenced perceived usefulness and intention to use; prior robotics experience did not significantly impact intention to use.

Conclusions:

• Participating nursing staff demonstrated high acceptance of the service robot in tested scenarios.
• User-centered development, including participatory design and hands-on experience, is vital for integrating robotics in nursing.
• Effective knowledge transfer and skills development are essential to realize the practical potential of service robots in healthcare settings.