Presentation
Integrating Assistive Robots Into Professional Caregivers’ Workflow in Aging Healthcare
SessionPoster Session 2
DescriptionThe increasing demands of an aging population have intensified the strain on caregiving resources, with many older adults experiencing cognitive and mobility impairments. Assistive robots, such as Stretch, offer a promising way to ease caregiver workload and improve the quality of care. This study evaluated Stretch, a mobile manipulator designed for direct interaction with older adults and caregivers, using a mixed-methods approach in a home simulation environment. Six professional caregivers participated by completing surveys, interviews, and hands-on sessions with the assistive robot, including tasks like remote video calls and item delivery. Key areas assessed included trust, usability, workload, and technology familiarity. Results indicated a rise in trust toward the robot, high usability scores, and reports of medium-to-low perceived workload. Caregivers highlighted Stretch’s effective object handling and its potential to assist with daily caregiving tasks. Although some participants were initially skeptical, their impressions became more positive after observing and interacting with the robot. Overall, the findings suggest that Stretch can be effectively integrated into caregiving workflows without adding to caregiver burden. Future work will focus on improving Stretch’s autonomous capabilities and refining the user interface to support broader adoption in real-world aging care environments.
Contributors
Event Type
Poster
TimeWednesday, October 15th5:30pm - 6:30pm CDT
LocationRiverside East
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