Can Socially Assistive Robots Be Accepted by Older People Living Alone in the Community?: Empirical Findings from a Social Work Project in China.

Journal: Journal of gerontological social work
PMID: 38682357

Abstract

A pilot study was undertaken between March 2019 and September 2021, loaning socially assistive robots (SARs) for a 7-day trial to older people living alone in China. Quantitative assessments of participants' acceptance of technology and loneliness were conducted before and after the intervention, supplemented with qualitative interviews. Unexpectedly, participants' intention to use SARs decreased significantly, largely due to emotional anxiety. Meanwhile, participants' level of loneliness remained unchanged. Follow-up interviews revealed anxious emotion, hesitant attitudes, unreal social presence, usability difficulties as contributing factors. The study provides social workers with valuable insights into introducing SARs into community care of older people.

Authors

  • Jie Lei
    State Key Laboratory of Integrated Service Networks, Xidian University, Xi'an 710071, China. Electronic address: jielei@mail.xidian.edu.cn.
  • Yucheng Liang
    Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA.
  • Zhenhao Su
    School of Sociology and Anthropology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
  • Peixing Dong
    Qichuang Social Work Service Centre, Guangzhou, China.
  • Jianling Liang
    National Center for Respiratory Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
  • Lin Lin
    Central Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen, China, zhibinli33@163.com, liusuhuan@xmu.edu.cn.

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