Department of Nursing, National Tainan Junior College of Nursing, Tainan, Taiwan R.O.C.
Faculty of Health Sciences & Medicine, Bond University, Queensland, Australia.
Clin Gerontol. 2024 Oct-Dec;47(5):909-921. doi: 10.1080/07317115.2022.2117674. Epub 2022 Sep 4.
This study aimed to examine the effect of 8-weeks of a 60-minute PARO intervention to reduce depressive symptoms and loneliness in older adults with dementia and investigated changes in their emotional or behavioral expressions and level of engagement with the PARO robot.
This was a quasi-experimental study with a repeated measures design. The outcome measures were evaluated at four time-points: before the intervention, week 4, immediately after the intervention, and one month after the PARO intervention.
Fifty-two participants were recruited. The age of the participants ranged from 65 to 96 years, with a mean age of 81.81 years ( = 8.54) in the PARO group and 79.08 years ( = 7.71) in the control group. Using a mixed between-within subjects' analysis of variance, the results showed that there were significant interaction effects between the groups and time-periods for depression ( < .000), loneliness ( < .000), and engagement ( < .000).
The PARO intervention alleviated depression and loneliness for older adults. Furthermore, the process of engagement with PARO may play an important role in the PARO effects.
A tailored PARO intervention of at least 4 weeks could engender positive psychological benefits for older adults.
本研究旨在探讨为期 8 周、每次 60 分钟的 PARO 干预对痴呆症老年患者抑郁症状和孤独感的影响，并调查其情绪或行为表达的变化以及与 PARO 机器人的互动水平。
这是一项准实验研究，采用重复测量设计。在四个时间点评估了结果测量：干预前、第 4 周、干预后立即和 PARO 干预后一个月。
共招募了 52 名参与者。参与者的年龄从 65 岁到 96 岁不等，PARO 组的平均年龄为 81.81 岁（=8.54），对照组为 79.08 岁（=7.71）。使用混合组内与组间方差分析，结果表明，抑郁（<0.000）、孤独（<0.000）和参与度（<0.000）方面，组间和时间周期存在显著的交互效应。
PARO 干预减轻了老年患者的抑郁和孤独感。此外，与 PARO 互动的过程可能在 PARO 的效果中发挥重要作用。
至少 4 周的定制 PARO 干预可能会给老年人带来积极的心理益处。
