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Paper short abstract:

This paper reports on comparative research conducted in residential care homes in Ireland and Japan, examining caregivers’ perceptions about assistive (air purification) robots. Based on focus group studies, care professionals' views and attitudes in two countries will be compared and discussed.

Paper long abstract:

Is Japan really the land of robots, and does the super-ageing society require robotics-aided care? These are the questions raised by several scholars in Japanese Studies over the last few decades (Robertson, 2017; Šabanović, 2014; Wright, 2019; Kodate et al., 2022). On one hand, growth in demand for long-term care services is projected in most economically advanced economies, given increasing life expectancy, and decreasing fertility levels, and finding the appropriate level of workforce remains a great challenge. Furthermore, the pandemic accelerated the use of telemedicine and other types of assistive technologies. The combination of the increasing demand for care support and a move towards ageing in place created a fertile ground for robotics-aided care in Japan and elsewhere. A recent questionnaire study indicated enthusiastic attitudes to the use of robotic devices among care professionals and older people (Kodate et al., 2021)

In order to examine care professionals’ views and attitudes about social implementation of assistive robots in care settings, comparative research was planned and conducted by an interdisciplinary team in residential care facilities in Ireland and Japan in 2022. An air-purification ‘robot’, originally developed by an Irish venture company, was installed in a residential home in both jurisdictions, and seven care professionals per home took part in the study (The care professionals were interviewed three times (pre, interim and post interviews) during the three-month long trailing period in a face-to-face and online format. Interactions between health and social care professionals and the ‘robot’ were also observed. At the end of the data collection period, a usability survey was conducted and subsequently followed by focus groups. This paper reports on the comparative study with a particular emphasis on the focus group results. Participants in Ireland and Japan equally expressed positive perceptions of the ‘robot’ and its ease of use throughout the whole process However, when the data are carefully analysed, certain differences were observed between the participants in two countries. The paper will consider some common factors that facilitated the trial process in both countries, and possible factors that produced the differences between Ireland and Japan.