JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Background:

In a search for innovative dementia care strategies, new research fields have been dedicated to designing social robots for older adults with cognitive impairments and dementia to promote their quality of life through communication and social interactions. Although the results are promising, the quality of studies on the effectiveness of social robots in elderly adults is still low due to several methodological limitations.

Objective:

We aimed to review the methodologies used so far for conducting studies with social robots in clinical and social settings in PwD (people with dementia) and elderly adults.

Methods:

Searches in Medline (PubMed), Web of Science, PsycInfo, and Cinahl yielded 33 studies included in the final review after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. Reviews were conducted by two independent authors.

Results:

Across 33 papers, 23 different social robots were examined on elderly adults and PwD, investigating feasibility, usability, efficacy, and effectiveness. A variety of study designs such as randomized control trials (RCTs), mixed methods, cross-sectional, and cohort were employed. Individual and group-based interventions took place in private households, long-term care facilities (LTCFs), and labs within a single session or multiple sessions. Data were collected through observations, questionnaires, interviews, and physiological tests. Most revealed improvements were found in mood, engagement, and participation. However, improvements in QoL, depression, and cognition were not significant.

Conclusions:

Despite the promising results, failures and ambitious findings remain within the many aspects of the inquiry due to the insufficient methodology. Appropriate RCT designs with large sample sizes and individual intervention sessions might be established for efficacy/ effectiveness studies. For feasibility/usability studies, experimental designs would serve best. We also recommend a mixed-method of data collection for each of the three aims (efficacy/ effectiveness, feasibility, and usability). Multiple interaction sessions running for more than one month might help researchers to draw significant results and reveal the long-term impact of the robots.