Changing attitudes to home-care robots – new study
New research into people’s willingness to use home-care robots in Japan, Ireland and Finland suggests common factors and way developers can encourage take-up
‘The implementation of home-care robots is sometimes unsuccessful,’ begins a new paper published in the journal Scientific Reports. Indeed, the authors go on to cite various different recent studies that each demonstrate that, ‘Gaining social acceptance for such assistive home-care robots remains a common issue in ageing societies.’
Photo by Julien Tromeur
This, they conclude, is a concern given the mounting pressures on care services due to ageing populations. Simple, reliable and effective tech, they say, is needed to help older people be more independent while reducing the burden on carers.
- Read the full paper, “A comparative study to elucidate factors explaining willingness to use home-care robots in Japan, Ireland, and Finland”, in Scientific Reports
Previous studies have tended to focus on why people aren’t willing to employ robots for home care. The new paper turns that on its head and instead addressed people who are willing to let robots care for them and their loved ones. The authors simply asked why?
The survey was conducted in Japan, Finland and Ireland between November 2018 and February 2019. In total, 1,004 potential users of home-care robots responded, with 858 of them willing to use robots in care. Of these, 525 respondents were from Japan, 170 from Finland and 163 from Ireland.
Common factors in all three countries were a willingness to participate in research, an interest in robot-related news and a positive impression of robots generally. The implication is that familiarity with robots and tech is a major factor.
Yet there were also clear distinctions between each country. In Japan, convenience was the priority, alongside support for older people’s mobility. In Finland, a key factor was design, as well as the capacity to improve well-being and comfort. In Ireland, the major factor was a robot’s ability to inform carers and family members when some change was detected in the person being cared for.
The authors make some attempt to match these findings to the particular needs and related government initiatives in each country. They also acknowledge the limitations of the data, not least that the data was collected in 2018-19, before the Covid pandemic and its impact on our attitudes to healthcare and tech.
But their main conclusion should resonate with the sector: people’s willingness to use home-care robots is associated with their knowledge of tech more generally and interest in taking part in research. Since few people can currently participate in research and development, say the authors, the onus is on developers to proactively involve older people, carers and families in the process. That, they suggest, will not only make for better, user-centric technology but increase willingness to try robot care.
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