TY - JOUR
T1 - The perceptions of people with dementia and key stakeholders regarding the use and impact of the social robot mario
AU - Casey, Dympna
AU - Barrett, Eva
AU - Kovacic, Tanja
AU - Sancarlo, Daniele
AU - Ricciardi, Francesco
AU - Murphy, Kathy
AU - Koumpis, Adamantios
AU - Santorelli, Adam
AU - Gallagher, Niamh
AU - Whelan, Sally
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding: The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union Horizons 2020–the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014–2020) under grant agreement 643808 Project MARIO “Managing active and healthy aging with use of caring service robots”.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/11/2
Y1 - 2020/11/2
N2 - People with dementia often experience loneliness and social isolation. This can result in increased cognitive decline which, in turn, has a negative impact on quality of life. This paper explores the use of the social robot, MARIO, with older people living with dementia as a way of addressing these issues. A descriptive qualitative study was conducted to explore the perceptions and experiences of the use and impact of MARIO. The research took place in the UK, Italy and Ireland. Semi-structured interviews were held in each location with people with dementia (n = 38), relatives/carers (n = 28), formal carers (n = 28) and managers (n = 13). The data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The findings revealed that despite challenges in relation to voice recognition and the practicalities of conducting research involving robots in real-life settings, most participants were positive about MARIO. Through the robot’s user-led design and personalized applications, MARIO provided a point of interest, social activities, and cognitive engagement increased. However, some formal carers and managers voiced concern that robots might replace care staff.
AB - People with dementia often experience loneliness and social isolation. This can result in increased cognitive decline which, in turn, has a negative impact on quality of life. This paper explores the use of the social robot, MARIO, with older people living with dementia as a way of addressing these issues. A descriptive qualitative study was conducted to explore the perceptions and experiences of the use and impact of MARIO. The research took place in the UK, Italy and Ireland. Semi-structured interviews were held in each location with people with dementia (n = 38), relatives/carers (n = 28), formal carers (n = 28) and managers (n = 13). The data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The findings revealed that despite challenges in relation to voice recognition and the practicalities of conducting research involving robots in real-life settings, most participants were positive about MARIO. Through the robot’s user-led design and personalized applications, MARIO provided a point of interest, social activities, and cognitive engagement increased. However, some formal carers and managers voiced concern that robots might replace care staff.
KW - Alzheimer’s
KW - Companion robots
KW - Dementia
KW - Long-term care
KW - MARIO
KW - Older adults
KW - Qualitative research
KW - Quality of care
KW - Social robots
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U2 - 10.3390/ijerph17228621
DO - 10.3390/ijerph17228621
M3 - Article
C2 - 33233605
AN - SCOPUS:85096374485
VL - 17
SP - 1
EP - 19
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
SN - 1661-7827
IS - 22
M1 - 8621
ER -