Unveiling technology acceptance of a social robot (LOVOT) among senior singletons in Hong Kong and Singapore: A multimethod protocol (Preprint)
Authors: KIAN TAN , LOU Vivian W.Q. , Cheng Clio Yuen Man , Mor Yan Ying , He Phoebe 
Published: May 2023

BACKGROUND

Given the rapidly ageing nature of our global population, policy makers around the world are now more actively promoting active ageing. Researchers have begun exploring the use of assistive technologies in the form of social robots as companions for older persons to address their psychosocial needs, a key component of active ageing. However, there has been limited evidence on the efficacy of such social robots, especially in the Asian context.

OBJECTIVE

This article elucidates the protocol of a study to investigate the acceptance and quality of interaction between a Japanese social robot, LOVOT, and elderly singletons in Hong Kong and Singapore.

METHODS

In this multimethod study design, 15 elderly singletons from Hong Kong and another 15 from Singapore were recruited: participants were 60-75 years of age, living alone, and had no known cognitive or mental issues. The primary outcome is the participants’ differences in responses to and acceptance of LOVOT prior to and following their interaction with the social robot, as outlined in the baseline assessment: the Qualtrics survey measured the senior technology acceptance (Chen & Lou, 2020), loneliness (Russell, 1996), older people’s quality of life (Bowling et al., 2013 & Herdman et al., 2011), subjective happiness (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999), cultural values (Triandis & Gelfand, 1998), willingness to pay, and demographic characteristics, along with the LOVOT’s sociability (Heerink et al., 2010) and system usability (Brooke, 1996). During the first session, participants were interviewed about their opinions on gerontechnology, social robots, and pets. Following the interview, participants were given 15 minutes to freely interact with LOVOT. This interaction was succeeded by a Qualtrics survey and interview to measure the elders’ acceptance and attitudes toward LOVOT. The interaction, post-interaction survey and interview, was repeated for two subsequent sessions for a total of three interactions with LOVOT. The study was conducted in both Hong Kong and Singapore.

RESULTS

The study began recruiting in March 2022 and recruitment completed at the end of Oct 2022. Data collection and dataset construction were completed at end of Jan 2023. A total of 30 participants successfully completed the longitudinal study. We are planning to publish the results by mid-2023. The interventional protocol is available in English and Traditional Chinese and will be available upon request from the corresponding author.

CONCLUSIONS

This article outlines the protocol of a pioneer study investigating the efficacy of the social robot, LOVOT, as companions for older people in Hong Kong and Singapore. This study introduces innovative solutions to improving the psychosocial health and engagement of older people. This protocol can be adapted to explore the efficacy of these assistive technologies in other elder care settings as well.

CLINICALTRIAL

The research protocol abides by all institutional ethical standards in human subject research and has been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee at The University of Hong Kong (HREC Reference Number: EA220116).