Conversation Analysis of Robot-Assisted Recreation for Older Adults with Dementia

In this article, we examine openings and closings in video-mediated tele-homecare for older adults in Finland, using multimodal conversation analysis. We demonstrate how participants organise these boundaries sequentially and multimodally, how visual appearing and disengaging are of key importance in these processes, and how openings and closings mirror each other in this institutional setting. In the openings, the participants orient to sequential structures that resemble those from mundane telephone conversations and Skype interactions: summons−answer, appearing−noticing, greeting−greeting and the “how are you” question−answer. The participants treat appearing as an accountable part of the opening, and delay advancing to the “how are you” question until a proper visual appearing is produced. Closings are managed through stepwise transition practices that result in a terminal exchange and both participants disengaging from the encounter: the clients, by walking away; the nurses, by closing down the connection. In addition to managing visuality, time-oriented talk is present in both openings and closings. A comparison of our results with findings from other technology-mediated encounters emphasises the importance of visuality in managing closings, and shows that tele-homecare is an interesting hybrid of institutionality and informality.

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Comparison of Pet Robot Assisted Therapy and Animal Assisted Therapy Intervention: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials for Old Adults with Dementia (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.23225 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Junseo Lim ◽

Jinhyun Kim

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Older Adults ◽

Randomized Controlled Trials ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Animal Assisted Therapy ◽

Controlled Trials ◽

Robot Assisted ◽

Screening Process ◽

Old Adults ◽

Randomized Controlled

BACKGROUND The increase in the number of dementia patients is a burden on caregivers as well as a socioeconomic burden. However, technical innovation is becoming a major critical factor in addressing such burdens. Studies are emerging that verify the effectiveness of robots in treating old adults with dementia. Therefore, we would like to determine and compare the effects of interventions that use robots and living animals, respectively. OBJECTIVE This study is a meta-analysis that analyzes four variables (cognition function, agitation, depression, and quality of life (QoL)) by selecting randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of old adults with dementia in order to determine and compare the effectiveness of pet robot-assisted therapy (PRAT) and animal-assisted therapy (AAT). METHODS The literature selected was limited to RCTs written in English. Four databases were used in the search and selection therefor: EMBASE, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science. Two independent reviewers completed the search and screening process. RESULTS The systematic review included seven articles on PRAT, seven articles on AAT, and one article on both PRAT and AAT—for a total of fifteen articles. The meta-analysis showed that both PRAT and AAT interventions did not have a statistically significant impact on the cognition function, depression, and QoL of older adults with dementia. However, they did have a statistically significant impact on agitation. CONCLUSIONS Previous studies have shown that the current method of treating older adults with dementia—whether using robots or living animals—is ineffective. Thus, in the development of intelligent active techniques (IATs), standardized robot arbitration programs—and the necessary measurement tools therefor—should be created instead of simply borrowing the program used in AAT.

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Evaluating Effectiveness of Robot-Assisted Recreation for Older Adults by Speech Analysis

2021 IEEE 3rd Global Conference on Life Sciences and Technologies (LifeTech) ◽

10.1109/lifetech52111.2021.9391826 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Tomoko Nariai ◽

Shiroh Itai ◽

Hiroaki Kojima

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Speech Analysis ◽

Robot Assisted

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Empathic Validation in Physician–Patient Communication: An Approach to Conveying Empathy for Problems With Uncertain Solutions

Qualitative Health Research ◽

10.1177/10497323211056312 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 104973232110563

Author(s):

Caroline K. Tietbohl

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Primary Care ◽

Conversation Analysis ◽

Communication Strategy ◽

Shared Understanding ◽

Clinical Empathy ◽

Video Recordings ◽

Physician Patient Communication ◽

Patient Responses ◽

Physician Patient

Interest in systematic approaches to improving clinical empathy has increased. However, conceptualizations of empathy are inconsistent and difficult to operationalize. Drawing on video recordings of primary care visits with older adults, I describe one particular communication strategy for conveying empathy—empathic validation. Using conversation analysis, I show that the design of empathic validations and the context in which they are delivered are critical to positive patient responses. Effective empathic validations must (a) demonstrate shared understanding and (b) support the patient’s position. Physicians provided empathic validation when there was no medical solution to offer and within this context, for three purposes: (1) normalizing changes in health, (2) acknowledging individual difficulty, and (3) recognizing actions or choices. Empathic validation is a useful approach because it does not rely on patients’ ability to create an “empathic opportunity” and has particular relevance for older adults.

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Comparison of Pet Robot Assisted Therapy and Animal Assisted Therapy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials for Older Adults with Dementia

Korean Journal of Security Convergence Management ◽

10.24826/kscs.10.4.13 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 189-210

Author(s):

Lim Jun-Seo ◽

Kim Jin-Hyun

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Older Adults ◽

Randomized Controlled Trials ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Animal Assisted Therapy ◽

Controlled Trials ◽

Robot Assisted ◽

Randomized Controlled

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Speech Analysis to Evaluate Robot-Assisted Recreation of Older Adults with Dementia

Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics ◽

10.20965/jrm.2021.p0777 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 33 (4) ◽

pp. 777-783

Author(s):

Tomoko Nariai ◽

Shiroh Itai ◽

Hiroaki Kojima ◽

◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Care Facility ◽

Aged Care ◽

Scientific Data ◽

Speech Analysis ◽

Robot Assisted ◽

Simple Method ◽

Subjective Analysis ◽

Field Level ◽

Speech Data

We investigated robot-assisted recreation (RAR) for improving the quality of life (QoL) of older adults with dementia in an aged care facility. However, as a simple method to evaluate RAR has not been established at the field level, limited scientific data exists to show its effectiveness. To solve this problem, we studied a method to evaluate RAR based on speech analysis, which can reduce the burden on subjects (older adults) and data analysts. This study conducted both subjective and objective analyses of speech data. Subjective analysis based on the transcripts of speech data resulted in findings that supported and added to the knowledge of previous research, such as an increased willingness to participate in RAR, positive feelings toward the future, and interest in interacting with others. The results of the objective analysis based on the fundamental frequency (F0) demonstrated that there was a difference in the distribution of F0 during RAR and the interviews conducted before and after RAR. This study thus provides the prospect for easy evaluation of recreational activities, including RAR, in aged care facilities at the field level using speech analysis.

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