Robots in care homes may improve elderly’s mental health

“CULTURALLY competent” robots could improve mental health and reduce loneliness in older people, a new international study has found.

The largest ever study investigating the use of culturally competent robots in caring for the elderly showed they can bring a “significant improvement” for older adults living in care homes.

The CARESSES study was “one of the most rigorous, complex and largest of its kind”, and led by the University of Genoa in Italy, which developed the robot’s artificial intelligence, and involved researchers at the University of Bedfordshire, Middlesex

University and Advinia Health Care, as well as teams around the world.

They found that older adults in care homes who used the culturally competent robot for up to 18 hours across two weeks saw a significant improvement in their mental health. After two weeks of using the system there was a small but positive impact on loneliness severity among users, and the system had a significant positive impact on participants’ attitudes towards robots.

The robots were able to respond to culture- specific needs and preferences of older people, and could relieve “some pressures” in hospitals and care homes, it was found. Lead author of the evaluation, Dr Chris Papadopoulos from the University of Bedfordshire, said: “This study is groundbreaking because it is the largest ever investigation into the use of autonomous social robots for older adults in care settings.

“The results show that using the CARESSES artificial intelligencein robots such as Pepper has real potential benefit to a world that is witnessing more people living longer with fewer people to look after them.

“Poor mental health and loneliness are significant concerns and we have demonstrated that robots can help alleviate these.”