Robotics Use in the Care and Management of People Living With Diabetes Mellitus: A Scoping Review.

BACKGROUND

Diabetes prevalence is rising and projected to affect 783 million globally by 2045. Effective diabetes self-management relies on diabetes knowledge, lifestyle modifications, and health care support; yet global health care workforce shortages hinder the provision of adequate care. Socially assistive technologies, such as robots or artificial intelligence, are proposed as potential solutions to meet rising demands.

AIM AND METHODS

To map the current literature on Socially Assistive Robots for diabetes care, identifying robotic types, barriers and enablers to use, and impact on health-related outcomes. A scoping review using Arskey and O'Malley's Framework was conducted, screening studies published between 2013 and 2025 across key databases and extracting data using COVIDENCE.

RESULTS

Twenty-two studies met the inclusion criteria, mostly focused on children with type 1 diabetes. Studies were largely conducted in Europe, cross-sectional, and with small sample sizes. Socially assistive robots demonstrated high acceptability, especially among younger children, positively affecting knowledge acquisition, self-management, and self-efficacy. Personalized interactions, gamified features, and emotional responsiveness were key enablers of engagement. However, engagement waned over time, particularly when participants' practical and emotional expectations were unmet. Barriers included usability challenges, privacy concerns, and lack of customization. Economic and sustainability evaluations were absent.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite growing evidence for robotics in diabetes care, research remains methodologically limited and focused primarily on younger populations. Future studies should include adults, employ multi-faceted robotics designs, and be adequately powered to assess acceptability and efficacy across diverse groups, facilitating broader application in diabetes care.