Use of Socially Assistive Robots for Long Term Care Older Adults With Cognitive Impairment and Apathy
Purpose
The objective of this study is to demonstrate the impact of a socially assistive robot system on reducing apathy among cognitively impaired older adults residing in long term care facilities. Earlier phases of this project demonstrated the feasibility and acceptability of the robotic system. First, investigators will improve the social robotic interaction architecture through additional software development, enhance its versatility, and make it easy for non-experts to run. Second, 188 participants will be randomized to either usual activity programs at the long term care facility, or the usual activity programs plus the robotic activities. Researchers will examine the effect on apathy and also plan on examining underlying individual and facility factors that influence the impact of the robotic activities.
Condition
- Alzheimer Disease
Eligibility
- Eligible Ages
- Over 65 Years
- Eligible Genders
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria
- Residing >3 months in long term care facility - Evidence of mild cognitive impairment (SAGE score 15-16), mild dementia (SAGE score <15, AD8<2, DSRD<19), or moderate dementia (SAGE <15, AD8>1, DSRD 19-36) - Symptoms of apathy (Score 30+ on AES-C)
Exclusion Criteria
- Severe cognitive impairment - Physically unable to participate - Unable to provide assent - Uncorrected vision or hearing - Never spoke English - Unable to sit comfortably in chair - Acutely ill, terminally ill or unresponsive - Unable to be moved to activity location - Aggressive or combative
Study Design
- Phase
- Phase 1/Phase 2
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel Assignment
- Intervention Model Description
- Participants will be randomized to either Usual Activity Program or Usual Activity Program + Robot Activity within each long term care facility. At each site, the order of the robot type (humanoid or dog) will be randomized. Each participant will participate in two sessions/week for 8 weeks (4 weeks with humanoid robot, 4 weeks with dog robot).
- Primary Purpose
- Treatment
- Masking
- Single (Outcomes Assessor)
- Masking Description
- Trained research assistants separate from other research personnel will collect outcomes; these research personnel will be blinded to the hypotheses and group assignments.
Arm Groups
| Arm | Description | Assigned Intervention |
|---|---|---|
|
Experimental Socially Assistive Robot Activity |
Participants will attend two sessions per week and interact with the robot. Four weeks with a humanoid robot and four weeks with a dog robot. Participants can continue to join other activities held within the facility. |
|
|
Active Comparator Usual Activity Program |
Participants will attend at least two sessions per week at activities held within the facility. They will not be exposed to the robot activities. |
|
Recruiting Locations
Nashville, Tennessee 37212-2010
More Details
- Status
- Recruiting
- Sponsor
- Vanderbilt University