Robot for Alleviating Loneliness and Engaging Nursing Home Residents

Completed

Conditions studied: Nursing Home Resident

In brief

Social isolation is an emerging critical challenge in the care of older adults. Nursing home residents engage for an average of just 12 minutes per day with an activity director, a situation further exacerbated by Covid-19. Social isolation has detrimental effects on health, evidenced by 48.7% of nursing home residents with an active depression diagnosis, and 61% have moderate or severe cognitive impairment. The ultimate goal of this project is to alleviate older adults loneliness and boredom and to improve their mood in an economically feasible and scalable way. The investigators will integrate the existing Vigorous Mind (VM) multidomain activities platform for older adults with an affordable autonomous navigating robot to remotely socialize with and engage long-term-care facility (Facility) residents diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) or early-stage Alzheimer s disease or related dementias (Residents). The VM web-based platform has been used for group activities in senior living facilities for eight years. A Resident s profile in VM automatically searches the web and presents their favorite music, reminiscence content, comedy, and personalized brain exercises. VM is secure and HIPAA compliant. A VM employee (VM Companion) with experience running activities in a long-term care facility will be introduced by the staff to a Resident as a new companion who will visit the Resident through the robot to keep them company. The temi robot can be instructed to go to room 312 and it will navigate its way to the room. The Resident will be notified that the VM Companion is arriving for a visit, and once in the room, the VM Companion will see and greet the Resident, and the Resident will see the VM Companion. Since the VM Companion has dashboard access to the Resident s background and interests via the VM profile, they will be able to meaningfully socialize and engage in relevant VM activities. The goal of this Phase I project is to test the feasibility of this idea and to collect preliminary data on its effect on loneliness and mood.

Key facts

Study ID
NCT06174337
Run by
Northeastern University
People needed
18
Starts
2022-06-21
Expected to finish
2023-11-30
Last updated by the study team
2023-12-18

Who can join

Age: 65 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

You may not qualify if…

Where it is running

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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