SimpleC Wellness Platform With Social Robot Interaction

Social Assistive Robot Interface for People With Alzheimers and Other Dementias to Aid in Care Management

This implementation study will be conducted to test a Socially-Assistive Robot (SAR) system for residents in an Assisted Living environment. The goal of the SAR system is to enhance social engagement and connectedness. The system engages residents via robot-facilitated activities such as trivia and reminder and is integrated with the SimpleC Wellness Platform.

This is a 3-week mixed-method study to assess the installation procedure, assess user first impressions, develop training, assess user materials, and identify any barriers and concerns during implementation. New features and design will be validated. Research questions include: How should the SAR system be introduced to the users and their environment? What are facilitators and barriers to implementation? Will users accept the SAR system in their environment? What are facilitators and barriers to SAR system acceptance? What are the desired parameters that the SAR system should have? What social behaviors do users expect? What tasks would be acceptable that the SAR system tablet do? How should the SAR system's perception, competence, and awareness be presented to users? What is most valuable to users and why? If the answer depends, then what does it depend on (user, task, environment)? Sample: Thirty individuals will participate: 10 residents, 10 family, and 10 staff. Enrollment will stop when reaching saturation. Procedure: The research will follow established procedures for recruitment, screening, and assessment. Participants will provide informed consent, which will be followed by a baseline assessment. Participants will be screened to ascertain inclusion and exclusion criteria. Residents and Senior Housing Community will receive the new SAR system, which includes a virtual robot and physical social robot. At the beginning of the study, enrolled residents will receive a tablet with a personalized profile, wellness programs, and virtual robot using the standard SimpleC enrollment process. Installation will be followed by training. Residents and family will be invited to personalize residents' profile and programming. One social robot will be implement for the whole community. Participants will engage with the SAR system as they are willing. All staff, residents, and family will be invited to use the SAR system, independent of study participation status. At the end of the study, assessments will be administered, which is followed by a brief interview.

Engagement, Patient, Mood, Quality of Life, Aging, Mild Cognitive Impairment, Cognitive Impairment, Dementia

Once respondents enroll, they will receive the SimpleC Wellness Platform, including introduction training on the SAR system. During the study period, participants and others will receive instructions for the SAR system and use it as part of scheduled interactions, which includes interactions as part of the general schedule. In the third week, the social robot will be installed, and staff trained in group sessions as available. Participants may use the full SAR system as they are willing. Interactions specific to the virtual and physical robot include notifications to join activities as per community schedule as well as trivia.

Identified factors that facilitate successful implementation (e.g., WiFi, environmental set up, user perceptions) as derived from analysis of: [interview, observational notes, usage data]

Identified factors that are barriers to implementation (e.g., WiFi, environmental set up, user perceptions) as derived from: [interview, observational notes, usage data]

Technology Acceptance Model Questionnaire. A 12-item scale with high scores indicating higher acceptance.

[Questionnaires] Assessment of users' perceived ease of use, usefulness, and satisfaction of using the technology.

[Interview] Assessment of users acceptance and adoption ease of use, usefulness, and satisfaction of using the technology.

Robotic Social Attributes Scale (RoSAS). An 18-item scale with high scores indicating positive attitudes for dimensions of warmth and competency and a negative attitude for dimension of discomfort.

[Questionnaire] Perception and judgment of Social Assistive Robot social attributes on 3 dimensions: Warmth, competency, and discomfort

[Interview] Social Assistive Robot social attributes are identified (e.g., friendliness, competency, etc)

Identified factors that indicate the ease of use and usefulness for different tasks as derived from analysis of: [Interview, usage data]

[Interview] Discussions with facility staff and key decision makers to understand the value of the technology in providing social interaction and reminders to their residents.

Identified requirements for design, training, and communication as derived from analysis of: [Interview, observations]

Inclusion Criteria: All: Fluent in English Resident: 50 years and older Resident: lives in Assisted Living Community Resident: MMSE score of 13 or higher Family member: 18 years and older Family member: family or friend of resident Family member: no diagnosis of dementia or related disorder Staff: 18 years and older Staff: works for the Senior Housing Community Exclusion Criteria: All: pregnant Resident: Expecting to move during the study Resident: Both legally deaf and blind