097How Do People Perceive Home-care Robots? A Questionnaire Study with Older People, Family Caregivers, and Care Professionals in Japan

Japan is at the sharp edge of population ageing. Accordingly, assistive technologies such as home monitoring robots to support care for older people are being developed. However, in order to develop a home-care robot, it is necessary to respond to the needs of the older person. This study aims to understand the perceptions of older people who receive home-care, family caregivers and home-care professionals towards the development of such robots. A self-administered questionnaire was devised and sent to 4,445 people. The participants included older people who receive home-care, as well as family caregivers and home-care professionals in one prefecture in Japan. The questionnaire was designed to understand their perception of a home-care robot and its usefulness, and the participants’ willingness to take part in empirical research to develop such robots. 577 people participated in the study. 76.4% were home-care professionals (n = 441), while older people accounted for 14.2% (n = 82) and family caregivers for 9.4% (n = 54). 53.4% of the professionals surveyed showed a willingness to participate in the research, compared with only 40% of the older people and their family caregivers. 63.0% of the older people who receive home-care demonstrated a negative perception towards the use of robots while they are still being tested, and similarly, the negative response from professionals and family caregivers exceeded 50%. Where safety and convenience were confirmed by research, 56.8% of the older people, 66.7% of family caregivers and 83.7% of professionals indicated their willingness to use such robots. This study shows that the older people and those involved in providing care generally have negative perceptions towards home–care robots. Therefore, a research ethics system needs to be developed rather urgently around research and development of home-care robots if such technologies are to be effectively utilised. This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers: 25293460, 16K12236.