Effect of the Information Support Robot on the Daily Activity of Older People Living Alone in Actual Living Environment

Jumpei Mizuno, Daisuke Saito, Ken Sadohara, Misato Nihei, Shinichi Ohnaka, Jun Suzurikawa and Takenobu Inoue
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Jumpei Mizuno: National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities Research Institute, 4-1, Namiki, Tokorozawa, Saitama 3598555, Japan
Daisuke Saito: Faculty of Liberal Arts, Chuo Gakuin University, 451, Kujike, Abiko, Chiba 2701196, Japan
Ken Sadohara: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 1-1-1, Umezono, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 3058560, Japan
Misato Nihei: Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 2778563, Japan
Shinichi Ohnaka: NEC Corporation, 1753, Shimonumabe, Nakahara, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 2118666, Japan
Jun Suzurikawa: National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities Research Institute, 4-1, Namiki, Tokorozawa, Saitama 3598555, Japan
Takenobu Inoue: National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities Research Institute, 4-1, Namiki, Tokorozawa, Saitama 3598555, Japan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 5, 1-13

Abstract: Information support robots (ISRs) have the potential to assist older people living alone to have an independent life. However, the effects of ISRs on the daily activity, especially the sleep patterns, of older people have not been clarified; moreover, it is unclear whether the effects of ISRs depend on the levels of cognitive function. To investigate these effects, we introduced an ISR into the actual living environment and then quantified induced changes according to the levels of cognitive function. Older people who maintained their cognitive function demonstrated the following behavioral changes after using the ISR: faster wake-up times, reduced sleep duration, and increased amount of activity in the daytime ( p < 0.05, r = 0.77; p < 0.05, r = 0.89, and p < 0.1, r = 0.70, respectively). The results suggest that the ISR is beneficial in supporting the independence of older people living alone since living alone is associated with disturbed sleep patterns and low physical activity. The impact of the ISR on daily activity was more remarkable in the subjects with high cognitive function than in those with low cognitive function. These findings suggest that cognitive function is useful information in the ISR adaptation process. The present study has more solid external validity than that of a controlled environment study since it was done in a personal residential space.

Keywords: robot; older people; living alone; cognitive function; real life situations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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