Evaluation of Personas and Daily Activity Maps for Improved Clinical Care and Training Models for Effective Human-Robot Interaction for Persons with Dementia: A Qualitative Study (Preprint)

Adeline Nyamathi, Mahkameh Rasouli, Cheonkam Jeong, Sabine Brunswicker, Elena Agapie, Jocelyn Ludlow, Riyam Jawad, Chet Khay, Audrey Lu, Jessica Ding Liao, Saba Azizabadi Farahani, Jung-Ah Lee, Nikil Dutt, Amir Rahmani, Erik Krogh

Abstract: Background: With over 7.2 million persons with dementia needing healthcare, challenges faced by healthcare are growing. As Social Assistive Robots have been in existence for some time, utilizing realistic and comprehensive personas and their daily activity maps to inform robot designers, and in the long-term, nurse caregivers, about predicting agitation and fall risk is a significant undertaking. However, no studies to date have evaluated these personas and their daily activity maps with expert dementia stakeholders. Objective: The purpose of this mixed method study was to explore the perspectives of formal and informal dementia caregivers, and robot designers in the use of personas and their daily activity maps to support caregivers in a residential facility in monitoring for agitation and fall risk. Methods: In this study, 15 stakeholders were first administered survey questions for which they subsequently provided perspectives on how to improve their scores if warranted. Results: In the quantitative survey, using a modified Persona Perception Scale, the average score for the personas was 4.60 out of 5, while the daily activity maps received an average score of 4.54. Individual scores on the subscales of Credibility, Completeness, Clarity, Empathy, and Willingness to Use, for both personas and daily activity maps, ranged from 4.23 to 4.75. In the qualitative analysis, three major themes emerged: 1) Improving human-robot interaction training through greater knowledge of the personal context of persons with dementia; 2) Comprehensive assessment of clinical history and functional capacities as essential for provision of safe and effective interaction for persons with dementia; and 3) Recommendations for improving the clarity and usefulness of the design of personas and their daily activity maps. Conclusions: The evaluation of personas and daily activity maps represents a promising avenue for improving the care of persons with dementia, particularly in relation to managing agitation and reducing fall risks. As the global burden of dementia continues to grow, innovative approaches like the use of personas and their daily activity maps may play an important role in enhancing the quality of care for individuals living with dementia. Clinical Trial: N/A

External IDs:doi:10.2196/preprints.85651