ENGEENIRING CARE IN NURSING HOMES: ROBOTS MEET OLDER PEOPLE

THIS STUDY SHOULD ALLOW AN ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF THE INTRODUCTION OF ROBOTIC DEVICES IN INSTITUTIONAL CARE ENVIRONMENTS. WE PROPOSE A RESEARCH -WITH QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE APPROACHES- WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF OLDER PEOPLE. ON THE ONE HAND, IT WILL BE MEASURED THE ATTITUDE OF OLDER PEOPLE LIVING IN NURSING HOMES TOWARDS ROBOTS. ON THE OTHER HAND, ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH WILL BE CONDUCTED IN A NURSING HOME DURING A PILOT STUDY OF ROBOT IMPLEMENTATION. WE APPROACH TO ROBOTICS IN HEALTHCARE FROM THE FRAMEWORK OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY STUDIES (STS). FROM AN STS APPROACH, IT IS ASSUMED THAT A SPECIFIC TECHNOLOGY IS NOT JUST AN ARTEFACT, BUT A NETWORK OF DEVICES, PROCESSES, AND ACTORS THAT BECOME INTERRELATED IN AN ASSEMBLY. THIS RESEARCH WILL OFFER ELEMENTS OF REFLECTION AND WORK ON A FIELD OF STUDY THAT HAS BEEN LITTLE EXPLORED, SUCH AS THE USE OF TECHNOLOGIES IN GERIATRIC RESIDENCES. THIS WILL IMPROVE THE UNDERSTANDING OF INNOVATION PROCESSES AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES CAPABLE OF MEETING THE NEEDS OF USERS. THE GENERAL OBJECTIVE (GO) IS TO PROMOTE A RELIABLE INCORPORATION OF ROBOTIC DEVICES ADJUSTED TO THE NEEDS AND WISHES OF ELDERLY PEOPLE LIVING IN INSTITUTIONAL CARE SETTINGS. FROM THIS GENERAL OBJECTIVE, THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES (SO) OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT ARE: SO1_TO KNOW THE ATTITUDE OF OLDER PEOPLE LIVING IN RESIDENTIAL CARE HOMES TOWARDS THE INCORPORATION OF ROBOTIC DEVICES IN THESE SPACES. SO2_TO IDENTIFY THE RELATIONAL STYLES OF PEOPLE INVOLVED IN CARE PROCESSES WITH ROBOTS IN A RESIDENTIAL SPACE FOR OLDER PEOPLE. SO3_ANALYZE THE FACILITATING AND HINDERING ELEMENTS THAT APPEAR IN THE PROCESSES OF INCORPORATING ROBOTS IN A RESIDENTIAL SPACE FOR THE ELDERLY. SO4_TO IDENTIFY THE MODELS OF CARE DESIRED BY THE ELDERLY SO THAT THEY CAN BE INCORPORATED IN THE PROCESSES OF DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. SO5_TO ELABORATE A PROTOCOL AND A POLICY BRIEF - DECALOGUE OF RECOMMENDATIONS TO GUARANTEE THE INCORPORATION OF ROBOTIC DEVICES THAT CONTRIBUTE TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH AND WELFARE OF PEOPLE IN RESIDENTIAL SITUATIONS, RESPECTING ETHICAL CRITERIA AND SOCIAL EQUITY.