Lavin Paola, Lesage Myriam, Monroe Edward, Kanevsky Michael, Gruber Johanna, Cinalioglu Karin, Rej Soham, Sekhon Harmehr
Department of Psychiatry, GeriPARTy Research Group, Jewish General Hospital, Montréal, QC, Canada.
Awakening Health Limited, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Front Psychiatry. 2022 Oct 21;13:1003881. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1003881. eCollection 2022.
Loneliness affects up to 42% of long-term care residents and is associated with poor health outcomes. Humanoid robot interventions hold promise for reducing loneliness and decreasing barriers to social interaction in long-term care settings, such as the current COVID-19 safety measures in many countries, limited mobility, and poor health. We present a protocol describing an assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial comparing the effects of a humanoid robot intervention to treatment as usual, on loneliness and mental health outcomes in long-term care residents.
Seventy-four ( = 74) older adults experiencing loneliness in 3 long-term care homes will be randomized 1:1 to an 8-week, twice a week social intervention with the Grace humanoid robot vs. a treatment as usual active control. We will assess change (baseline to week 8) in (1) loneliness (primary outcome), (2) depression severity, and (3) stress (secondary outcomes), as well as (4) other exploratory outcomes: anxiety, quality of life and reduction in acute healthcare utilization. We will also assess the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention using qualitative methods.
The proposed study will assess the effects of a social robot on loneliness and other mental health outcomes, as well as the feasibility of the intervention in older adults living in long-term care settings.
NCT05423899.
高达42%的长期护理机构居民受孤独感影响，且孤独感与健康状况不佳有关。人形机器人干预有望减少长期护理机构中的孤独感，并降低社交互动障碍，如许多国家当前的新冠疫情安全措施、行动不便和健康状况不佳等情况。我们提出一项方案，描述一项评估者盲法随机对照试验，比较人形机器人干预与常规治疗对长期护理机构居民孤独感和心理健康结果的影响。
74名在3所长期护理机构中感到孤独的老年人将按1:1随机分组，一组接受为期8周、每周两次的与格蕾丝人形机器人进行的社交干预，另一组接受常规治疗作为积极对照。我们将评估（1）孤独感（主要结果）、（2）抑郁严重程度和（3）压力（次要结果）从基线到第8周的变化，以及（4）其他探索性结果：焦虑、生活质量和急性医疗利用率的降低。我们还将使用定性方法评估干预措施的可行性和可接受性。
拟议的研究将评估社交机器人对孤独感和其他心理健康结果的影响，以及该干预措施在长期护理机构老年人中的可行性。
NCT05423899。
