Home-care Professionals’ Ethical Perceptions of the Development and Use of Home-care Robots for Older Adults in Japan

ABSTRACT

Because of the workforce shortage in Japan, the use of home-care robots, or carebots, is increasingly perceived as a realistic option. Developing and implementing these carebots requires careful consideration of the ethical implications for all types of users. Few studies, however, have addressed the ethical principles and concepts involved in carebot use, and consequently, the discussion regarding roboethics in the home-care environment has been inadequate. This questionnaire study explored the relationship between the willingness of home-care professionals to use carebots, their experiences with robots, and their ethical perceptions. The principal factors affecting home-care staff perceptions were perceived benefit, use of personal information, the protection of privacy, and perceptions of risk. While perceived benefit was the common predictor affecting home-care staff willingness to use a robot for the care of all user types, concerns regarding the use of personal information were more prominent for older people.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all the study participants.

Disclosure of potential conflict of interest

The authors have no conflicts to disclose.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, [SS]. The data are not publicly available due to [restrictions e.g. their containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants].

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI, Grant Numbers: [JP25293460, JP16K12236].

Notes on contributors

Sayuri Suwa

Sayuri Suwa is a Professor at the Division of Visiting Nursing at Chiba University Graduate School of Nursing in Japan. She is a director at the Japanese Society for Dementia Care. Her research interests include dementia care, the development of ethics regarding assistive technology for dementia, and community-based integrated care systems.

Mayuko Tsujimura

Mayuko Tsujimura is an Associate Professor at the Division of Visiting Nursing at Chiba University Graduate School of Nursing in Japan. Her research interests include home health care for older people and support for their families, home care and assistive technology for older people living alone, and educative support for home care nurses.

Hiroo Ide

Hiroo Ide is a Project Assistant Professor at the Institute of Future Initiatives at the University of Tokyo. He holds a doctorate in medical science from the University of Tokyo, and has worked both at the University of Tokyo Hospital and Chiba University Hospital. His research interest is health policy.

Naonori Kodate

Naonori Kodate is an Associate Professor in Social Policy at University College Dublin in Ireland. His research interests include comparative public policy, gender equality in STEM education, patient safety, and science, technology and society (STS), particularly in the use of eHealth (e.g., home care robots) in social care.

Mina Ishimaru

Mina Ishimaru is a Professor at the Division of Community Health Nursing at Chiba University Graduate School of Nursing in Japan. Her research interests include community approaches for assisting those with dementia, collaborations and partnerships through research, and community-based integrated care systems.

Atsuko Shimamura

Atsuko Shimamura is a Lecturer in the Division of Community Health Nursing, Department of Nursing at Toho University in Japan. Her research interests include observational skills in home care nurses and caring for older people, including those with dementia.

Wenwei Yu

Wenwei Yu is a Professor in Assistive Technology and Robotics at Chiba University in Japan. His chief interests are neuroprosthetics, rehabilitation robotics, home care support systems, motor control, and biomedical signal processing.