School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Public Policy Research Center, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
Health Soc Care Community. 2022 May;30(3):1086-1096. doi: 10.1111/hsc.13327. Epub 2021 May 10.
Many countries face major challenges to ensure that their health and social care systems are ready for the growing numbers of older people (OP). As a way of realising ageing in place, assistive technologies such as home-care robots are expected to play a greater role in the future. In Asia and Europe, robots are gradually being adopted as a public policy solution to the workforce shortage. Yet, there is still a strongly held belief that such technologies should not be part of human and personal care services such as OP's care. However, there has been little research into attitudes and perceptions of potential users regarding home-care robots which can provide companionship and support with activities of daily living. To explore these in more detail, a questionnaire study was carried out in Finland, Ireland and Japan. This study reports findings from the Irish cohort (114 older people [OP], 8 family carers and 56 Health and Social Care Professionals [HSCPs]). Seventy per cent of the total respondents (N = 178) reported being open to the use of home-care robots, and only one quarter had a negative image of robots. People with care responsibilities in their private capacity expressed more interest in, and readiness to use, home-care robots, while stressing the importance of 'privacy protection' and 'guaranteed access to human care'. Both OP and HSCPs identified observation and recording of OP's mental and physical condition as desirable functions of such robots, whereas practical functions such as fall prevention and mobility support were also deemed desirable by HSCPs. There is generally positive interest in home-care robots among Irish respondents. Findings strongly suggest that the interest is generated partly by great need among people who deliver care. Should such robots be developed, then careful consideration must be given to user-centred design, ethical aspects and national care policy.
许多国家都面临着重大挑战，需要确保其医疗和社会保健系统能够为不断增加的老年人（OP）提供服务。作为实现原地老龄化的一种方式，辅助技术，如家庭护理机器人，预计将在未来发挥更大的作用。在亚洲和欧洲，机器人正逐渐被作为解决劳动力短缺的公共政策解决方案而被采用。然而，人们仍然强烈认为，这些技术不应该成为 OP 护理等人类和个人护理服务的一部分。然而，对于能够提供陪伴和日常生活支持的家庭护理机器人，针对潜在用户的态度和看法的研究却很少。为了更详细地探讨这些问题，在芬兰、爱尔兰和日本进行了一项问卷调查研究。本研究报告了爱尔兰队列（114 名老年人[OP]、8 名家庭护理人员和 56 名卫生和社会保健专业人员[HSCP]）的研究结果。70%的总受访者（N=178）表示愿意使用家庭护理机器人，只有四分之一的人对机器人持有负面看法。在私人生活中有护理责任的人对家庭护理机器人表现出更大的兴趣和使用意愿，同时强调“隐私保护”和“保证获得人类护理”的重要性。OP 和 HSCP 都认为观察和记录 OP 的身心状况是这类机器人的理想功能，而预防跌倒和促进行动能力等实际功能也被 HSCP 认为是理想的功能。爱尔兰受访者对家庭护理机器人普遍感兴趣。研究结果强烈表明，这种兴趣部分是由提供护理的人产生的巨大需求所产生的。如果开发出此类机器人，则必须仔细考虑以用户为中心的设计、伦理方面和国家护理政策。
