Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Nov 8, 2022
Date Accepted: Jun 26, 2023
Potential facilitators and barriers to implementing the MINI robot in community-based Meeting Centres for people with dementia and their carers in the Netherlands and Spain.
ABSTRACT
Background:
Social robots as a form of digital health technologies, are used to support emotional, cognitive, and physical care and have shown promising outcomes in enhancing social well-being in people with dementia (PwD) by boosting emotions, social interactions, and activity participation.
Objective:
The goal was to investigate the attitude of stakeholders and potential facilitators and hurdles to implementing the social robot MINI in community-based Meeting Centres (MC) for PwD and carers in the Netherlands and Spain.
Methods:
Based on the British Medical Research Council guidance for process evaluation of the implementation of complex interventions and the Model for tracing facilitators and barriers of the adaptive implementation of innovations in dementia care, an explorative qualitative study was conducted. Following the introduction of the MINI robot 11 stakeholders were interviewed in three MC in the Netherlands and one in Spain, as well as stakeholders in health and welfare organizations in both countries. In total 12 adults with dementia participated in focus groups. The data were thematically analyzed and narratively described.
Results:
Overall stakeholder opinion and interest in the MINI robot were positive. The most important (expected) facilitating factors mentioned by stakeholders appeared to be human resources, funding, the impact of the MINI robot on the users and programs of the MCs, characteristics of the innovation, and collaboration with other care and welfare organizations, whereas (expected) barriers mentioned concerned the physical context and the functionalities of the MINI robot, user context, and MC activity policies.
Conclusions:
The findings will inform professional stakeholders, such as MC directors and managers, as well as care and welfare organizations, on the practical employing the MINI robot in MC. Furthermore, our research will aid MINI robot developers in tailoring its features to PwD preferences and demands and the meeting centre policies, which will contribute to the MINI robot's effective adoption and deployment.
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