Will a Robot Take Care of You When You're Old?

By guest blogger Deborah Johanson (MHlthPsyc)

How many of us, when thinking about our twilight years, consider who it is that might be caring for us, should we become ill, frail, or dependent, in our later days? Global population shifts, due to factors such as extended life expectancies, mean that the burden of elderly care around the world is set to increase. In 2015, the global population of people aged 60 years or older was 901 million (12 percent); by 2050, there will 2.1 billion people aged 60 years or older globally, with all areas of the world (except Africa) having an older population of at least 25 percent (United Nations, 2015). Adding to this issue is a growing shortfall between the ever-increasing older population and the healthcare workers needed to support them. In fact, a report by the World Health Organization, estimates that by 2035 there will be a global shortage of roughly 12.9 million health care professionals (WHO, 2013).

Loneliness and social isolation are significant healthcare issues affecting the older population. A study conducted in New Zealand found that 52 percent of people aged 65 and over living within our community feel moderately or severely lonely (La Grow, Neville, Alpass & Podgers, 2012). Loneliness and social isolation carry with them a number of negative health outcomes including a significant mortality risk (Holt-Lundstad, Smith & Layton, 2010). While family members often provide both physical care and social support to older adults living in the community, what happens when neither personal nor professional care is available?

A potential solution to supporting our growing older adult population, both physically and socially, may come in the form of a robot. For decades, the use of robots on factory lines has been relatively commonplace, with recent years seeing robots emerge capable of physically and surgically assisting medical staff in healthcare environments. In order to assist individuals living with healthcare needs, however, robotic scientists have turned their attentions to the development of socially assistive robots (SAR’s). SAR’s are complex robots, able to perform a variety of physical tasks with the additional benefit of utilizing social behaviors, that enable them to act as a form of social support to those with whom they interact. A recent review of studies on the effectiveness of SAR’s in older adult populations provides encouraging support for the use of SAR’s in caring for our older adult population (Abdi, Al-Hindawi, Ng & Vizcaychipi, 2017).

The scoping review, carried out by Abdi and colleagues, examined the findings of 61 publications, encompassing 1574 older adults, from countries around the world such as Japan, Australia, and the USA. The review suggested that SAR’s could improve older adult mood and well-being, improve cognitive outcomes, for cognitively health older adults, as well as older adults with dementia. Improvements in interest, communication, interaction, and decreases in agitation were also found across many of the studies. In regards to social isolation and loneliness, a number of the studies specifically examined the ability of SAR’s to provide companionship. These studies, conducted in Japan, New Zealand, and the USA, found that the SAR’s were effective in decreasing loneliness scores of older adult users. Although this review found many positive results, not all results were positive, and the quality of some of the studies was low. More studies with stronger designs are needed.

Will older adults, or human beings in general, ever fully accept social robots? For many individuals, the idea of having a robot caring for either themselves, or their loved ones, represents a potentially uneasy situation. While the benefits of having an extra pair of hands around the home seem clear, how do we really feel about engaging with a ‘machine’? The answer to that seems to be: it depends. People tend to judge social robots much in the way we judge other people. Due to this, a robot’s personality, gender, and even attractiveness, influences whether or not we find a robot to be ‘acceptable’ (Tay, Jung & Park, 2014). In addition, our own characteristics, such as our age, gender, and personal stereotypes, also affect the way in which we perceive social robots (de Graaf & Allouch, 2013; Tay, Jung & Park, 2014). In order for SARs to be both appropriate and acceptable, for use in caring for older adults, we may have to accept the idea that a ‘one robot fits all’ approach is not well grounded. However, given the rather sobering predictions of the United Nations and The World Health Organisation, in regards to growing elderly populations and struggling healthcare systems, the continual development of SAR’s is certainly important. Who knows, when we get older, a robot might just be our best friend.