Paper short abstract:

This paper reports the findings from a tri-country questionnaire study that was carried out to examine potential home-care robot users’ perceptions toward development and social implementation of such robots in Japan, Ireland, and Finland. The paper’s focus will be placed on older people’s views.

Paper long abstract:

Since the Robot Revolution Initiative Council was established by the Cabinet Office of Japan in 2015, there have been a plethora of policy initiatives and investment to encourage the use of intelligent machines in various domains including health care. It is estimated that there will be a shortage of 370,000 nurses and care professionals to accommodate ageing population by 2025. Considering the large-scale change in society, integrating robots and ICT technology into care provision and daily life has been given serious thought in Japan.

The surveys in Japan often show that a majority considered the use of robots promising in the areas of healthcare and care for older people. However, there is still a strongly held belief that such technologies should not be part of human and personal care services such as older people’s care. In addition, there has been little research targeted at potential immediate users, including older people in receipt of care, and carers and care professionals on the frontline. It is essential to ask not only about their willingness to use home-care robots, but also about their readiness to participate in research and development of such technologies.

Against this background, the team of interdisciplinary researchers in Japan conducted questionnaire surveys with a specific focus on immediate (potential) users of care robots (older people, family carers and care professionals) in 2017 and 2018/2019. The first questionnaire was conducted only in Japan, while the second questionnaire included those three groups in three countries (Japan, Ireland and Finland). This paper reports on the second comparative study, with a particular focus on older people’s perceptions.

Older people in Japan showed a higher level of familiarity with robots, while the common concern among all respondents in the three countries was safety. There are other similarities and differences, and our findings suggest that it is essential to devise optimal strategies for the development and social implementation of home-care robots by incorporating various perspectives including familiarity with robots, family relationships, and care policies while valuing universal human dignity.

This work was supported by Pfizer Health Research Foundation, International Joint Research.