Social robots in care for older adults: from researching attitudes to real-life use at home

At the Research Day of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, held on Wednesday, 27 May, Simona Hvalič Touzery, PhD, from the Centre for Social Informatics presented the centre’s research work on social robots in healthcare and long-term care of older adults.

This year’s Research Day focused on the question of how humanoid robots affect contemporary society. In the discussion, Assist. Prof. Dr Hvalič Touzery emphasised that the introduction of social robots into care of older adults is not merely a technological issue, but also a matter of social acceptance, ethics, dignity, privacy, and the preservation of human contact.

She presented research findings showing that attitudes towards social robots are often neutral or reserved. Their acceptance is importantly shaped by perceived benefits for users, direct experience with use, and issues related to the quality and dignity of care. These findings stem from the project Digital transformation of health and social care: Welfare technology acceptance and knowledge among current and future healthcare and social care professionals (ARIS J5-4578) and provide an important basis for the new project Socially assistive robots in elder care: Acceptance, ageism, affordability, and implications of its use (ARIS J5-70195), which started in March this year. Both projects are led by Assist. Prof. Dr Hvalič Touzery.

Building on previous work, the new project will provide insight into the attitudes of the general population, informal caregivers, and older adults towards social robots in care. Particular attention will be paid to affordable social robots and the possibilities for their use in the home environment of older adults. In this way, the project will contribute to a better understanding of the conditions under which social robots can meaningfully support care for older adults, without overlooking key issues of dignity, autonomy, privacy, and the quality of interpersonal relationships.