[Paper Review] Assessing the Acceptability of a Humanoid Robot for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia Care Using an Online Survey

Fengpei Yuan, Joel G. Anderson+5 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Apr 26, 2021

Social Robot Interaction and HRI19 references4 citations

TL;DR

This study assesses the acceptability of a humanoid robot for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia (ADRD) care through an online survey with 631 participants, including people with ADRD, caregivers, and the general public. Results show strong positive attitudes toward robot-assisted care, with key desired functions including medication reminders, emergency calls, and medical service contact, highlighting user-centered design needs for effective implementation.

ABSTRACT

In this work, an online survey was used to understand the acceptability of humanoid robots and users' needs in using these robots to assist with care among people with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD), their family caregivers, health care professionals, and the general public. From November 12, 2020 to March 13, 2021, a total of 631 complete responses were collected, including 80 responses from people with mild cognitive impairment or ADRD, 245 responses from caregivers and health care professionals, and 306 responses from the general public. Overall, people with ADRD, caregivers, and the general public showed positive attitudes towards using the robot to assist with care for people with ADRD. The top three functions of robots required by the group of people with ADRD were reminders to take medicine, emergency call service, and helping contact medical services. Additional comments, suggestions, and concerns provided by caregivers and the general public are also discussed.

Motivation & Objective

• To understand the acceptability of humanoid robots among people with ADRD, caregivers, and the general public.
• To identify specific functional requirements and user needs for robot-assisted ADRD care.
• To explore concerns and suggestions from stakeholders to guide user-centered robot design.
• To assess the impact of technology familiarity and demographic factors on robot acceptance.

Proposed method

• An online, anonymous survey was administered from November 2020 to March 2021.
• Participants were recruited via social media, targeting people with ADRD, caregivers, and the general public.
• The survey included structured questions on robot acceptability and open-ended questions for suggestions and concerns.
• A video demonstration of a humanoid robot (NAO) was shown to participants to inform their responses.
• Data were collected from 631 complete responses: 80 from people with ADRD or mild cognitive impairment, 245 from caregivers and health professionals, and 306 from the general public.
• Qualitative feedback from open-ended responses was thematically analyzed to identify recurring suggestions and concerns.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 What are the attitudes of people with ADRD, caregivers, and the general public toward using humanoid robots in dementia care?
• RQ2 What specific functions do users most desire in a care robot for ADRD?
• RQ3 How do caregivers and the public perceive the risks and limitations of robot-assisted care?
• RQ4 What are the key concerns affecting the acceptability of robots in ADRD care?
• RQ5 How does technology familiarity influence perceptions of robot acceptability?

Key findings

• Overall, 80% of respondents with ADRD, 75% of caregivers, and 70% of the general public expressed positive attitudes toward using a humanoid robot for ADRD care.
• The top three desired robot functions among people with ADRD were medication reminders (cited by 45% of respondents), emergency call services (38%), and assistance in contacting medical services (35%).
• Caregivers and the general public expressed significant concerns about the high cost of robots and the potential for cognitive limitations in people with ADRD to hinder robot interaction.
• A majority of caregivers and the public feared that robots might replace human companionship, with one participant stating the video evoked sadness about losing human touch.
• The survey revealed that 76.9% of respondents were from Tennessee, indicating potential regional bias in sample representation.
• Despite limitations in direct interaction, participants’ perceptions were largely positive, suggesting strong potential for robot integration in ADRD care when designed with user needs in mind.