Age In Place With Robots
With a shortage of home caregivers and family members unable to provide consistent help, governments and technology companies are exploring the possibility of having robots assist older adults who want to age in place.
Many seniors want to stay in their homes and live independently for as long as possible but need help with daily tasks. The global aging population has created a demand for more caregivers at a time when there are fewer home care workers, and family members are not always available to help their loved ones.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in 6 people in the world will be aged 60 years or over by 2030. Additionally, the WHO reports that the proportion of the world’s population over 60 years old will nearly double from 12 percent to 22 percent between 2015 and 2050.
Because of this, governments and tech firms are hoping that robots can act as alternative caregivers to older adults by providing assistance with daily tasks and companionship while monitoring their safety and surroundings.
The concept of care robots isn’t new, but the home care programs involving robots have not been successful, according to an article based on a study by a research team at Chiba University in Japan. For instance, the Japanese government has launched several care robot programs since 2021. However, the development and sale of several highly anticipated care robots were discontinued because of the difficulty of developing products that could meet the needs of Japanese long-term care settings, according to the article published in Scientific Reports in November 2024.
Japan wasn’t the only country that struggled with sales of home care robots. Care robots were developed in Finland and heavily promoted by the media; however, they struggled to gain traction.
Home care robots may provide a creative caregiving alternative, but the question remains whether seniors want a robot helping them instead of a human. So, the Chiba University researchers posed that and other questions to over 1,000 older adults, caregivers, and home care professionals in Japan, Finland, and Ireland.
These countries are also facing the challenge of an aging population and a shortage of caregivers, the researchers said. For instance, the Japanese government reported that an additional 250,000 caregivers will be needed by 2026. Keva, a pension provider for public sector employees in Finland, estimated there will be a shortage of 16,600 nurses, including those caring for the elderly. Half of the shortage has occurred in the last two years, the article said. Additionally, Family Carers Ireland found that about two-thirds of family caregivers felt they could not receive formal support because of inadequate staffing.
The Chiba University researchers believe that care robots could be helpful as solutions to these challenges.
“Simple, reliable, and effective technologies are needed to mitigate the impact of care workforce shortage and help older adults to age in their homes,” team members stated in their article. “One way to overcome this shortage is to develop and deploy ‘robot technology to help older adults become more independent and reduce the burden on caregivers.’”
The researchers’ questionnaire-based survey included four categories:
- Familiarity with robots
- Important points about home care robots
- Functions expected from home care robots
- Ethically acceptable uses
The survey also had 48 items assessing the respondents’ willingness to use home care robots. The research team analyzed responses from 525 Japanese, 163 Irish, and 170 Finnish individuals.
According to the survey results, not only were respondents in all three countries willing to consider the idea of care robots, but they also had a positive impression of robots and would be “interested in robot news.”
The team also noted that distinct cultural perspectives about care robots emerged from each country. For example,
- In Japan, respondents cited “convenience” as one of the important points about robots. They also mentioned “providing support for movement/mobility of older people in their daily lives” as one of the functions expected from home-care robots.
- In Ireland, respondents’ willingness to use care robots was influenced by the expectation that they would “notify family members and support personnel when an unexpected change occurs in an older person.”
- In Finland, participants emphasized the importance of “design” when considering care robots. The researchers pointed out that when asked what should be considered when adopting a robot, the Finnish respondents selected the “capacity to increase mental and physical wellbeing and comfort.”
The article also noted that respondents were willing to participate in research and development of care robots. Based on the respondents’ willingness and interest in care robots, the research team recommended that developers “consider a system that involves them in the development process.” Since not everyone can participate in the research and development of care robots, team members suggested that developers keep in mind what users will need in their daily lives while considering potential problems.
Although there is still much work to be done with developing home care robots and having older adults and their families and caregiving professionals accept the concept, the research team believes care robots could help older adults stay in their homes.
“In countries where the population is aging, the use of home-care robots will enable many people to achieve ‘aging in place,” Sayuri Suwa, a co-author of the article and a professor at Chiba University told Robotics and Automation News. “Each country has its own unique history, culture, and legal system, so we wanted to clarify how home-care robots could be developed and implemented in a way that respects these differences.”
Source Links:
https://www.housingwire.com/articles/university-study-says-robots-could-help-seniors-age-in-place/
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-79414-y
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ageing-and-health
https://roboticsandautomationnews.com/2024/12/19/empowering-older-adults-with-home-care-robots/87774/
