Impact of an Emotional Robot on Quality of Working Life of Caregivers in a Geriatric Unit (PARO)

Centre Hospitalier le Mans

Status: Unknown

Conditions: Burnout, Professional; Anxiety; Stress

Treatments: Device: Use of the "PARO" emotional robot

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03994159

CHM-2019/S18/06.

Details and patient eligibility

About

Since February 2016, with the objective of improving the quality of life and the autonomy of residents, the Le Mans General Hospital uses an interactive "emotional" robot within its geriatric wards.

This emotional robot, Paro, is equipped with a dozen sensors, 3 microphones and interacts with its user: it reacts to touch, voice and heat making small sounds and moves its head, fins and tail. The algorithm that governs Paro's behavior allows him to offer a behavioral answer adapted to the user's stimuli. Thus, Paro is able to communicate beneficial emotions to patients.

To this day however there is no published study exploring the effect of such a robot on team dynamics among caregivers in hospital units.

Our research aims at highlighting the benefits that a healthcare team perceives when working with this tool among patients suffering from dementia.

Enrollment: 75 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Non medical caregiver (nurse, nursing aid, orderly, psychological aid worker) working in one of the selected geriatric wards.

Exclusion criteria

• Refusal to participate in the study

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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75 participants in 1 patient group

PARO emotional robot

Experimental group

Description:

Quasi-experimental before after study of the impact of the PARO robot on team dynamics among caregivers in geriatric wards caring for patients with dementia. Pre intervention period: no PARO robot. Post-intervention period: with the PARO robot.

Treatment:

Device: Use of the "PARO" emotional robot