Austbø Lise Birgitte Holteng, Testad Ingelin, Gjestsen Martha Therese
Centre for Age-Related Medicine, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway.
Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Bergen, Postboks 7804, Bergen, 5020, Norway, 0047 40063238.
JMIR Form Res. 2025 May 8;9:e59764. doi: 10.2196/59764.
About 40,000 people are living in Norwegian care homes, where a majority are living with a dementia diagnosis. Social isolation and loneliness are common issues affecting care home residents' quality of life. Due to visitation restrictions during the pandemic, residents and family members started using digital solutions to keep in contact. There is no framework or guidelines to inform the uptake and use of technologies in the care home context, and this often results in non-adoption and a lack of use after the introduction phase. Hence, there is a great need for research on the feasibility of a robot that can facilitate video communication between residents and family members.
This study aimed to (1) introduce video communication through a robot to address social isolation and loneliness in a care home during a period of 6 weeks and (2) identify elements central to the feasibility concerning testing and evaluating the use of the robot.
Three focus group interviews were undertaken: 1 with family members (n=4) and 2 with care staff (n=2 each). The informants were purposely selected to ensure that they had the proper amount of experience with the robot to have the ability to inform this study's objectives. The focus group interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim, then subsequently analyzed using systematic text condensation.
The data analysis of focus group interviews and individual interviews resulted in three categories: (1) organizing the facilitation of video calls, (2) using a robot in dementia care, and (3) user experience with the robot.
Video communication in care homes is a feasible alternative to face-to-face interactions, but it depends on organizational factors such as information flow, resources, and scheduling. In dementia care, the user-friendly robot supports person-centered care through tailored social interaction. Both family members and staff express enthusiasm for video calls as an option and see its potential for future use.
约4万人居住在挪威的养老院中，其中大多数人被诊断患有痴呆症。社交隔离和孤独是影响养老院居民生活质量的常见问题。由于疫情期间的探访限制，居民和家庭成员开始使用数字解决方案来保持联系。在养老院环境中，缺乏指导技术采用和使用的框架或指南，这往往导致在引入阶段后技术不被采用且缺乏使用。因此，非常需要研究一种能够促进居民与家庭成员之间视频通信的机器人的可行性。
本研究旨在（1）在6周的时间内通过机器人引入视频通信，以解决养老院中的社交隔离和孤独问题，以及（2）确定测试和评估机器人使用可行性的核心要素。
进行了三次焦点小组访谈：1次与家庭成员（n = 4），2次与护理人员（每次n = 2）。有意选择这些受访者以确保他们对机器人有足够的使用经验，从而有能力为该研究的目标提供信息。焦点小组访谈进行了录音并逐字转录，随后使用系统文本浓缩法进行分析。
焦点小组访谈和个人访谈的数据分析产生了三个类别：（1）组织视频通话的便利措施，（2）在痴呆症护理中使用机器人，以及（3）对机器人的用户体验。
养老院中的视频通信是面对面互动的可行替代方案，但这取决于诸如信息流、资源和日程安排等组织因素。在痴呆症护理中，用户友好型机器人通过量身定制的社交互动支持以人为本的护理。家庭成员和工作人员都对视频通话这一选择表示热情，并看到了其未来使用的潜力。
