Abstract
We conducted three studies among healthcare professionals and explored the need for service and social robots in the healthcare sector. The methods consisted of cross-sectional surveys and literature reviews. The survey data were analyzed with cross-tabulations, a logistic regression model, a Pearson correlation test, and a factor analysis. The literature reviews showed that there were only a few papers which discussed the use of service and social robots as tools by healthcare workers. Both professional care workers and healthcare educators perceived that robots were able to increase productivity. The results also showed that robots are able to reduce the mental workload of workers and to increase the diversity of work. Robots were also considered as good devices for activating the patients’ motoric and cognitive skills and for making them happy. Even if the attitudes were positive and people were not afraid that robots may take over workplaces, the ecosystem of social robotics is still fragmented and the number of intervention studies among professional care workers is small. Policymakers should create a strategy for promoting service and social robots in the healthcare sector. The strategy should take into account robotics in education and implementation of robots in healthcare facilities.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Alaiad, A., & Zhou, L. (2014). The determinants of home healthcare robots adoption: An empirical investigation. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 83(11), 825–840.
Alameddine, M., Baumann, A., Laporte, A., & Deber, R. (2012). A narrative review on the effect of economic downturns on the nursing labour market: Implications for policy and planning. Human Resources for Health, 10, 23.
Andrade, A., Pereira, A., Walter, S., Almeida, R., Loureiro, R., Compagna, D., & Kyberd, P. (2014). Bridging the gap between robotic technology and health care. Biomedical Signal Processing and Control, 10, 65–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bspc.2013.12.009.
Arras, K., & Cerqui, D. (2005). Do we want to share our lives and bodies with robots? Tech. Rep., 0605-001, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Bartneck, C., & Forlizzi, J. (2004). A design-centred framework for social human-robot interaction. In Proceedings of the Ro-Man 2004 (S. 591–594).
Beedholm, K., Frederiksen, K., Frederiksen, A.-M., & Skovsgaard-Lomborg, K. (2015). Attitudes to a robot bathtub in Danish elder care: A hermeneutic interview study. Nursing & Health Sciences, 17(3), 280–286.
Boman, I.-L., & Bartfai, A. (2015). The first step in using a robot in brain injury rehabilitation: Patients’ and health-care professionals’ perspective. Disability & Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 10(5), 365–370.
Boston Consulting Group. (2015). Takeoff in robotics will power the next productivity surge in manufacturing. https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2015/02/13/924190/0/en/Takeoff-in-Robotics-Will-Power-the-Next-Productivity-Surge-in-Manufacturing.html.
Bots, Z. (2016). Zora the first social robot already widely used in Healthcare. http://www.roboticstomorrow.com/article/2016/04/zora-the-first-social-robot-already-widely-used-in-healthcare/7927.
Broadbent, E., Stafford, R., & MacDonald, B. (2009). Acceptance of health care robots for the older populations: Review and future directions. International Journal of Social Robotics, 1, 319–330.
Broadbent, E., Tamagawa, R., Patience, A., Knock, B., Kerse, N., Day, K., & MacDonald, B. A. (2012). Attitudes towards health-care robots in a retirement village. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 31(2), 115–120.
Budisan, O., Ignat, I., Vacariu, L., & Florea, C. (2010). Social interaction in systems of humans and mobile robots. Solid State Phenomena, 166–167, 89–94. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/SSP.166-167.89.
Chibani, A., Amirat, Y., Mohammed, S., Matson, E., Hagita, N., & Barreto, M. (2013). Ubiquitous robotics: Recent challenges and future trends. Robotics and autonomous systems, 61(11), 1162–1172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.robot.2013.04.003.
Chen, Y-Y., Wang, J-F., Lin, P-C., Shih, P-Y., Tsai, H-C., & Kwan, D-Y. (2011). Human-robot interaction based on cloud computing infrastructure for senior companion. In: TENCON 2011 IEEE Region 10 Conference (pp. 1431–1434).
Cohen-Mansfield, J., & Biddison, J. (2007). The scope and future trends of gerontechnology: Consumers’ opinions and literature survey. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 25(3), 1–19.
Compagna, D., & Kohlbacher, F. (2015). The limits of participatory technology development: The case of service robots in care facilities for older people. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 93, 19–3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2014.07.012.
Danish Technological Institute. (2015). Robot co-worker for assembly. http://www.dti.dk/services/robot-co-worker-for-assembly/32733.
Dautenhahn, K. (2007). Socially intelligent robots: Dimensions of human–robot interaction. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 362(1480), 679–704.
Davis, F. (1989). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. MIS Quarterly, 13(3), 319–340.
Diep, L., Cabibihan, J. J., & Wolbring, G. (2015). Social robots: Views of special education teachers. In Proceedings of the 3rd Workshop on ICTs for Improving Patients Rehabilitation Research Techniques (S. 160–163).
Duffy, B., Rooney, C., O’Hare, G., & O’Donoghue, R. (1999). What is a Social Robot? 10th Irish Conference on Artificial Intelligence & Cognitive Science, University College Cork, Ireland. http://www.csi.ucd.ie/csprism/publications/pub1999/AICS99Duf.pdf.
euRobotics aisbl. (2015a). Strategic research agenda for robotics in Europe 2014–2020, applications: Societal challenges (pp. 59–64). http://www.eu-robotics.net/cms/upload/PPP/SRA2020_SPARC.pdf.
euRobotics aisbl. (2015b). Robotics 2020 multi-annual roadmap for robotics in Europe. Call 1 ICT23—Horizon 2020. Initial Release B 15/01/2014. http://www.eu-robotics.net/cms/upload/PDF/Multi-Annual_Roadmap_2020_Call_1_Initial_Release.pdf. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
European Commission. (2013). EU-funded research into robotics for ageing well. https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/node/376.
Ferrari, E., Robins, B., & Dautenhahn, K. (2010). Does it work? A framework to evaluate the effectiveness of a robotic toy for children with special needs. In 19th International Symposium in Robot and Human Interactive Communication, RO-MAN.
Flandorfer, P. (2012). Population ageing and socially assistive robots for elderly persons: The importance of sociodemographic factors for user acceptance. International Journal of Population Research. ID 829835.
Fong, T., Thorpe, C., & Baur, C. (2001). Collaboration, dialogue, and human-robot interaction. In 10th International Symposium of Robotics Research, Lorne, Victoria, Australia.
Ge, S. S. (2007). Social robotics: Integrating advances in engineering and computer science. In: Proceedings of Electrical Engineering/Electronics, Computer, Telecommunications and Information Technology International Conference (S. 9–12).
Goeldner, M., Herstatt, C., & Tietze, F. (2015). The emergence of care robotics—A patent and publication analysis. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 92, 115–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2014.09.005.
Göransson, O., Pettersson, K., Larsson, P., & Lennernäs, B. (2008). Personals attitudes towards robot assisted health care—a pilot study in 111 respondents. Studies in Health Technology & Informatics, 137, 56–60.
Haddadin, S., Suppa, M., Fuchs, S., Bodenmüller, T., Albu-Schäffer, A., & Hirzinger, G. (2011). Towards the robotic co-worker. In Robotics Research, The 14th International Symposium ISRR (S. 261–282). Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics, Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Heerink, M., Kröse, B., Evers, B., & Wielinga, B. (2010). Assessing acceptance of assistive social agent technology by older adults: The almere model. International Journal of Social Robotics, 2(4), 361–375.
IFR. (2017). The international federation of robotics. https://ifr.org/img/office/Service_Robots_2016_Chapter_1_2.pdf.
Ilmarinen, J., Tuomi, K., & Klockars, M. (1997). Changes in the work ability of active employees over an 11-year period. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, 23(1), 49–57.
Jokinen, K., & Wilcock, G. (2017). Expectations and first experience with a social robot. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Human Agent Interaction (S. 511–515).
Kanamori, M., Suzuki, M., & Tanaka, M. (2002). Maintenance and improvement of quality of life among elderly patients using a pet-type robot. Nihon Ronen Igakkai Zasshi. Japanese Journal of Geriatrics, 39(2), 214–218.
Khosla, R., & Mei-Tai Chu., M-T. (2013). Embodying care in Matilda: An affective communication robot for emotional wellbeing of older people in Australian residential care facilities. ACM Transactions on Management Information Systems., 4(18), 33.
Kim, J., Wang, Z., Cai, W., & Feng, D. (2008). Multimedia for Future Health-Smart Medical Home. In Biomedical Information Technology. Burlington: Academic Press, 23. (S. 497–512). https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-012373583-6.50027-x.
Kollengode, A. (2015). Voice of the customer (Patient) for six sigma processes in healthcare. Process Excellence Network. http://www.processexcellencenetwork.com/lean/columns/voice-of-the-customer-patient-for-six-sigma-proces/.
Kozima, H., Michalowski, M., & Nakagawa, C. (2008). Keepon—A playful robot for research, therapy, and entertainment. International Journal of Social Robotics, 1(1), 3–18.
Krebs, H. I., Hogan, N., Volpe, B. T., Aisen, M. L., Edelstein, L., & Diels, C. (1999). Overview of clinical trials with MIT-MANUS: A robot-aided neuro-rehabilitation facility. Technology and Health Care, 7, 419–423.
Kristoffersson, A., Coradeschi, S., Loutfi, A., & Severinson-Eklundh, K. (2011). An exploratory study of health professionals’ attitudes about robotic telepresence technology. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 29(4), 263–283.
Kumar, V., Bekey, G., & Zheng, Y. (2005). Assessment of international research and development in robotics: Industrial, personal, and service robots, Chapter 5 (S. 55–62). http://www.wtec.org/robotics/report/05-Industrial.pdf.
Lee, M., & Forlizzi, J. (2009). Designing adaptive robotic services. In Proceedings of IASDR’09.
Linner, T., Pan, W., Georgoulas, C., Georgescu, B., Güttler, J., & Bock, T. (2014). Co-adaptation of robot systems, processes and in-house environments for professional care assistance in an ageing society. Procedia Engineering, 85,328–338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2014.10.558.
MacDorman, K., Vasudevan, S., & Ho, C. (2009). Does Japan really have robot mania? Comparing attitudes by implicit and explicit measures. AI & Society, 23(4), 485–510.
Meng, Q., & Lee, M. (2006). Design issues for assistive robotics for the elderly. Advanced Engineering Informatics, 20(2), 171–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aei.2005.10.003.
Munton, T., Alison, M., Marrero, I., Llewellyn, A., Gibson, K., & Gomersall, A. (2015). Getting out of hospital? The evidence for shifting acute inpatient and day case services from hospitals into the community. London, UK.: The Health Foundation.http://www.health.org.uk/publications/getting-out-of-hospital.
Muszyńska, M., & Rau, R. (2012). The old-age healthy dependency ratio in Europe. Journal of Population Ageing, 5(3), 151–162.
Newman, P. (2013). Patchy robotics industry growth doesn’t fit with aging population growth. Pergali, Editorial. http://pergali.com/patchy-robotics-industry-growth-doesnt-fit-with-aging-population-growth/.
Okumura, Y., & Higuchi, T. (2011). Cost of depression among adults in Japan. The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders, 13(3). https://doi.org/10.4088/pcc.10m01082.
Peine, A., Rollwagen, I., & Neven, L. (2014). The rise of the “innosumer”—Rethinking older technology users. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 82, 199–214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2013.06.013.
Pigini, L., Facal, D., Blasi, L., & Andrich, R. (2012). Service robots in elderly care at home: Users’ needs and perceptions as a basis for concept development. Technology & Disability, 24(4), 303–311.
Rabbitt, S., Kazdin, A., & Scassellati, B. (2015). Integrating socially assistive robotics into mental healthcare interventions: Applications and recommendations for expanded use. Clinical Psychology Review, 35, 35–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2014.07.001.
Rincon, F., Vibbert, M., Childs, V., Fry, R., Caliguri, D., Urtecho, J., … Jallo, J. (2012). Implementation of a model of robotic tele-presence (RTP) in the neuro-ICU: Effect on critical care nursing team satisfaction. Neurocritical Care, 17(1), 97–101.
Robinson, R. (1993a). Economic evaluation and health care, cost-effectiveness analysis. BMJ, 307, 793–795.
Robinson, R. (1993b). Economic evaluation and health care, cost-benefit analysis. BMJ, 307, 924–926.
Saborovski, M., & Kollak, I. (2014). How do you care for technology?—Care professionals’ experiences with assistive technology in care of the elderly. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 93, 133–140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2014.05.006.
Saritas, O., & Keenan, M. (2004). Broken promises and/or techno dreams? The future of health and social services in Europe. Foresight, 6(5), 281–229.
Sauppe, A., & Mutlu, B. (2015). The social impact of a robot co-worker in industrial settings. http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~bilge/pubs/2015/CHI15-Sauppe.pdf.
Scopelliti, M., Giuliani, M., & Fornara, F. (2005). Robots in a domestic setting: A psychological approach. Universal Access in the Information Society, 4(2), 146–155.
Scott, C. (2015). Is da vinci robotic surgery a revolution or a ripoff? HealthlineNews. http://www.healthline.com/health-news/is-da-vinci-robotic-surgery-revolution-or-ripoff-021215.
Sekmen, A., & Challa, P. (2013). Assessment of adaptive human–robot interactions. Knowledge-Based Systems, 42, 49–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.knosys.2013.01.003.
Sobocki, P., Angst, J., Jönsson, B., & Rehnberg, C. (2006). Cost of depression in Europe. The Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics, 9(2), 87–98.
Summerfield, M., Seagull, F., Vaidya, N., & Xiao, Y. (2011). Use of pharmacy delivery robots in intensive care units. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 68(1), 77–83.
Takahashi, C. D., Der-Yeghiaian, L., Le, V., Motiwala, R. R., & Cramer, S. C. (2008). Robot-based hand motor therapy after stroke. Brain, 131, 425–437.
Tapus, A., Mataric,’ M., & Scassellati, B. (2007). The grand challenges in socially assistive robotics. Robotics Autom Mag IEEE, 14(1), 35–42.
Taylor, R. (2015). Hospitals are very bad places for the elderly, says head of the NHS as he calls for expansion of community care. Daily Mail. Associated Newspapers Ltd. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2265692/Hospitals-bad-places-elderly-says-head-NHS-compares-treatment-national-scandals-asylum-care.html.
Tobe, F. (2012). Where are the elder care robots? IEEE Spectrum 2012. http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/home-robots/where-are-the-eldercare-robots.
Van der Loos, H. F. M., & Reinkensmeyer, D. J. (2008). Rehabilitation and health care robotics, handbook of robotics. New York, NY: Springer. (S. 1223–1251).
Vänni, K. (2013). Social robotics as a tool for promoting occupational health. In COST event: The future concept and reality of Social Robotics, Brussels, Belgium (2013).
Vänni, K. (2017). Robot applications in communication. In Smart technology solutions support the elderly to continue living in their own homes. Reports of the Ministry of the Environment 7/2017, (S. 44–51). Ministry of the Environment in Finland.
Vänni, K., & Korpela, A. (2015). Role of social robotics in supporting employees and advancing productivity. In Social Robotics. ICSR 2015. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 9388. Cham: Springer.
Vänni, K., & Korpela, A. (2016). An effort to develop a web-based approach to assess the need for robots among the elderly. In Social Robotics. ICSR 2016. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 9979. Cham: Springer.
Vänni, K., & Salin, S. (2017). A need for service robots among health care professionals in hospitals and housing services. In Social Robotics. ICSR 2017. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 9979. Cham: Springer.
Vänni, K., Savolainen, J., Salin, S., & Haho, P. (2017). Innovation platform for service robotics. https://www.researchgate.net/project/Innovation-platform-for-service-robotics.
Vänni, K., Cabibihan, J.-J., & Salin, S. (2018). Attitudes of heads of education and directors of research towards the need for social robotics education in Universities. In Social Robotics. ICSR 2018. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 9979. Cham: Springer.
Venkatesh, V., Morris, M., Davis, G., & Davis, F. (2003). User acceptance of information technology: Toward a unified view. Management Information Systems Quarterly, 27(3), 425–478.
WHO. (2002). Towards a common language for functioning, disability and health ICF. The international classification of functioning, disability and health. World Health Organization, Geneva.
Wu, Y.-H., Wrobel, J., Cristancho-Lacroix, V., Kamali, L., Chetouani, M., Duhaut, D., … Rigaud, A.-S. (2013). Designing an assistive robot for older adults: The ROBADOM project. IRBM, 34(2), 119–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irbm.2013.01.003.
Zullo, M., McCarroll, M., Mendise, T., Ferris, E., Roulette, G., Zolton, J., … Gruenigen, V. (2014). Safety culture in the gynecology robotics operating room. Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology, 21(5), 893–900.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Vänni, K.J., Salin, S.E. (2019). Attitudes of Professionals Toward the Need for Assistive and Social Robots in the Healthcare Sector. In: Korn, O. (eds) Social Robots: Technological, Societal and Ethical Aspects of Human-Robot Interaction. Human–Computer Interaction Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17107-0_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17107-0_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-17106-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-17107-0
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)