More studies required to investigate the impacts of low-cost pet robots in dementia care
Guidance
Low-cost pet robots are a promising technology to improve the psychosocial health of people living with dementia. More high quality studies with sufficiently large sample sizes should be conducted to properly investigate their impacts.
Explanation and examples
Pet robots are a technology-based substitute to animal assisted therapy. However, the high costs of many pet robots can hinder the use of pet robots in dementia care. A scoping review was conducted to understand the impact of using lower-cost (more affordable) pet robots. Synthesised findings from nine studies suggested that low-cost pet robots improved the communication, social interactions and other health domains of older adults and people living with dementia. However, most studies had a small sample size and were of varying quality. Moving forward, more rigorous studies are necessary to investigate their impacts.
Themes
Older adults Pet robots Psychosocial impact Robotic pets Social robots
Target groups
Dementia care organisations (nursing homes & day care centres) Dementia researchers Healthcare professionals Social robot designers/developersType of evidence
Scoping review
References
Koh, W. Q., Ang, F. X. H., & Casey, D. (2021). Impacts of low-cost robotic pets for older adults and people with dementia: scoping review. JMIR Rehabilitation and assistive technologies, 8(1), e25340. doi.org/2196/25340
As training manager of INDUCT, I am responsible for the overall coordination and organization of the individual and network-wide training of our 15 ESRs. My main task is the organization of five INDUCT Summer and Winter Schools. Together with the local and management team, we identify needs and interests among the ESRs, compose a varied program for the week including training sessions, project meetings and social and networking events, invite academic and non-academic expert speakers, organize practical matters, and afterwards we evaluate the event, write a report, and try to incorporate all suggestions in our future training events.