JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Intelligent physical robots based on artificial intelligence (AI) have been argued to bring about dramatic changes in healthcare services. Previous research has examined the use of intelligent physical robots in the healthcare context from different views, an overview on the antecedents and consequences of intelligent physical robot use in healthcare is lacking in the literature.

Objective:

This study aims to provide an overview of the antecedents and consequences of intelligent physical robot use in healthcare and to propose potential agendas for future research through a systematic literature review.

Methods:

We conducted a systematic literature review on intelligent physical robots in the healthcare field following the guidelines of preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA). Literature searches were conducted in 5 databases (PubMed, Scopus, PsycInfo, EMBASE, and CINAHL) in May 2021, focusing on studies using intelligent physical robots for healthcare purposes. Subsequently, the quality of the included studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. We performed an exploratory content analysis and synthesized the findings extracted from the included articles.

Results:

A total of 94 research articles were included in the review. Intelligent physical robots, including mechanoid, humanoid, android, and animalistic robots, have been utilized in hospitals, nursing homes, mental healthcare centers, laboratories, and patients’ homes by both end-customers and healthcare professionals. The antecedents for intelligent physical robot use are categorized into individual-, organization-, and robot-related factors. Intelligent physical robot use in the healthcare context leads to both non-health-related consequences (emotional outcomes, attitude and evaluation outcomes, and behavioral outcomes) and consequences for (physical, mental, and social) health promotion for individual users. Accordingly, an integrative framework was proposed to get an overview of the antecedents and consequences of intelligent physical robot use in the healthcare context.

Conclusions:

This study contributes to the literature by summarizing current knowledge in the field of intelligent physical robot use in healthcare, by identifying the antecedents and the consequences of intelligent physical robot use, and by proposing potential future research agendas in the specific area based on the research findings in the literature and the identified knowledge gaps.