Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Faculty of Psychology, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2017 Oct 1;18(10):871-878. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2017.05.019. Epub 2017 Jun 28.
To investigate the affective, social, behavioral, and physiological effects of the companion robot Paro for people with dementia in both a day care center and a home setting.
A pilot block randomized controlled trial over 12 weeks. Participants were randomized to the intervention (Paro) or control condition (standard care).
Two dementia day care centers and participants' homes in Auckland, New Zealand.
Thirty dyads (consisting of a care recipient with dementia and their caregiver) took part in this study. All care recipients attended dementia day care centers at Selwyn Foundation and had a formal diagnosis of dementia.
Thirty-minute unstructured group sessions with Paro at the day care center were run 2 to 3 times a week for 6 weeks. Participants also had Paro at home for 6 weeks.
At the day care centers, observations of the care recipients' behavior, affect, and social responses were recorded using a time sampling method. Observations of interactions with Paro for participants in the intervention were also recorded. Blood pressure and salivary cortisol were collected from care recipients before and after sessions at day care. In the home setting, level of cognition, depressive symptoms, neuropsychiatric symptoms, behavioral agitation, and blood pressure were measured at baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks. Hair cortisol measures were collected at baseline and at 6 weeks.
Observations showed that Paro significantly improved facial expressions (affect) and communication with staff (social interaction) at the day care centers. Subanalyses showed that care recipients with less cognitive impairment responded significantly better to Paro. There were no significant differences in care recipient dementia symptoms, nor physiological measures between the intervention and control group.
Paro shows promise in enhancing affective and social outcomes for certain individuals with dementia in a community context. Larger randomized controlled trials in community settings, with longer time frames, are needed to further specify the contexts and characteristics for which Paro is most beneficial.
在日间护理中心和家庭环境中，研究伴侣机器人帕罗对痴呆症患者的情感、社交、行为和生理影响。
为期 12 周的试点随机对照试验。参与者被随机分配到干预组（帕罗）或对照组（标准护理）。
新西兰奥克兰的两个痴呆症日间护理中心和参与者的家庭。
30 对（由痴呆症护理接受者及其照顾者组成）参与了这项研究。所有护理接受者都在 Selwyn Foundation 参加痴呆症日间护理中心，并被正式诊断为痴呆症。
每周 2 到 3 次在日间护理中心进行 30 分钟的非结构化小组会议，为期 6 周。参与者还在家中使用了帕罗 6 周。
在日间护理中心，使用时间抽样法记录护理接受者的行为、情感和社交反应的观察结果。还记录了干预组参与者与帕罗互动的观察结果。在日间护理前后，从护理接受者身上采集血压和唾液皮质醇。在家庭环境中，在基线、6 周和 12 周时测量认知水平、抑郁症状、神经精神症状、行为激越和血压。在基线和 6 周时采集头发皮质醇测量值。
观察结果表明，帕罗显著改善了日间护理中心护理接受者的面部表情（情感）和与工作人员的交流（社交互动）。亚分析表明，认知障碍程度较低的护理接受者对帕罗的反应明显更好。干预组和对照组之间，护理接受者的痴呆症状和生理测量值均无显著差异。
在社区环境中，帕罗在增强某些痴呆症患者的情感和社交结果方面显示出了前景。需要在社区环境中进行更大规模的随机对照试验，并延长时间框架，以进一步确定帕罗最有益的情境和特征。
