Robots might be one answer for mitigating loneliness among older adults, suggest the results of a recent survey.
“Loneliness and social isolation are huge risks for a variety of mental, physical and social health issues and also for early death. So, it’s very important for senior care and assisted living facilities to take stock of who they think are lonely and socially isolated amongst their population,” Murali Doraiswamy, MBBS, FRCP, told the McKnight’s Business Daily.
Doraiswamy is a professor at Duke University School of Medicine and a proponent of ElliQ, a companion robot for older adults.
When Sermo, a social platform for physicians, conducted a survey of 307 physicians across 25 countries and 40 specialties on the potential benefits/risks of companion robots to alleviate social isolation in older adults, 69% of doctors said they believed that robots could provide companionship and augment the effects of human-to-human interaction for lonely older adults. Doraiswamy advised Sermo on the survey, along with Elizabeth Broadbent FRSNZ, a professor of health psychology at the University of Auckland in New Zealand.
“Human-to-human interaction is the best proven way of alleviating loneliness and social interaction, but if that is not possible, if there is someone there who is completely has no relatives, who is totally, totally cut off from human beings, then that’s the situation where we are suggesting that robots could be a potential sort of gap between what the person needs and what’s available,” Doraiswamy said.
A senior living or other long-term care community could customize programming to meet each resident’s needs, he said. Robots are becoming sophisticated, to the point of developing personalities, he added. They are able to learn from observing a person’s routine and intervening at the right time.
A companion robot, Doraiswamy said, can initiate conversations six or seven times a day to get people moving if they are sitting for long periods of time, and it can urge someone to do simple exercises. A robot also can augment staff services by taking blood pressure readings and performing other assessments, he said.
“Studies have shown [social interaction] has a huge impact on every aspect of our body and brain. It boosts our immune system, boosts our cognition, reduces stress levels, and it’s going to increase your lifespan,” Doraiswamy said.
“I think everybody needs one or two close friends. If you don’t have any close friends, then I think a robot and technology can play a very valuable role,” he added.
