Identification of care tasks for the use of wearable transfer support robots – an observational study at nursing facilities using robots on a daily basis

BMC Health Services Research

Naoki Itoh¹  Keita Aimoto¹  Izumi Kondo²  Shohei Tsuchimoto³  Tatsuya Yoshimi³  Kenji Kato³  Nobuaki Mizuguchi³ 

[1] Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, 7-430, Morioka, 474-8511, Obu, Aichi, Japan;Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, 7-430, Morioka, 474-8511, Obu, Aichi, Japan;Center of Assistive Robotics and Rehabilitation for Longevity and Good Health, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, 7-430, Morioka, 474-8511, Obu, Aichi, Japan;Laboratory for Clinical Evaluation with Robotics, Center of Assistive Robotics and Rehabilitation for Longevity and Good Health, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, 7-430, Morioka, 474-8511, Obu, Aichi, Japan;

关键词: Wearable transfer support robots;    Physical burden;    Care task;    Nursing facility;    Observational time-motion analysis;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12913-021-06639-2

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundTo reduce the physical burden of caregivers, wearable transfer support robots are highly desirable. Although these robots are reportedly effective for specific tasks in experimental environments, there is little information about their effectiveness at nursing care facilities. The aim of this study was to identify care tasks and operations suitable for the use of these robots among caregivers in nursing facilities where these robots have been in use on a daily basis.MethodsA 1-min observational time-motion analysis was conducted to examine care tasks and operations in two nursing facilities where wearable transfer support robots, namely Muscle Suit or HAL® Lumbar Type for Care Support, have been used routinely on a daily basis for more than 24 months.ResultsAnalysis of the care tasks and their time ratio while wearing the equipment revealed that both robots were used conspicuously for direct care in over 70% of transits, especially during transfer assistance and toileting care. Furthermore, these robots were used intensively in the morning along with wake-up calls to care recipients, where pre-assigned wearers used them as part of their “routine work.”ConclusionsWe found that these wearable transfer support robots enabled effective performance of care tasks and operations in nursing facilities where these robots have been used on a daily basis for an extended period of time. These results may lead to the effective implementation and sustained operation of other types of care robots in the future.Trial registrationUMIN Clinical Trials Registry no. UMIN000039204. Trial registration date: January 21, 2020. Interventional study. Parallel, non-randomized, single blinded.

【 授权许可】

CC BY