How people with dementia perceive a therapeutic robot called PARO in relation to their pain and mood: A qualitative study
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Author(s)
Pu, Lihui
Moyle, Wendy
Jones, Cindy
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2019
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BACKGROUND: Interacting with social robots, such as the robotic seal PARO, has been shown to improve mood and acute pain for people with dementia. Little attention has been paid to the effect of PARO on people with dementia and chronic pain. OBJECTIVE: To explore how people with mild to moderate dementia and chronic pain perceive PARO as an alternative intervention to manage their pain and mood. DESIGN: A descriptive qualitative approach nested within a pilot randomised controlled trial. METHODS: Participants with dementia and chronic pain were recruited from three residential aged care facilities. They interacted with PARO ...
View more >BACKGROUND: Interacting with social robots, such as the robotic seal PARO, has been shown to improve mood and acute pain for people with dementia. Little attention has been paid to the effect of PARO on people with dementia and chronic pain. OBJECTIVE: To explore how people with mild to moderate dementia and chronic pain perceive PARO as an alternative intervention to manage their pain and mood. DESIGN: A descriptive qualitative approach nested within a pilot randomised controlled trial. METHODS: Participants with dementia and chronic pain were recruited from three residential aged care facilities. They interacted with PARO for 30 min, five days a week over a six-week period. A sample of 11 participants completed individual semi-structured interviews at the end of the intervention. Data were collected from January 2018 to January 2019. Inductive thematic analysis was undertaken. Reporting of findings followed the COREQ checklist. RESULTS: Four themes emerged from the data: (1) Perceptions of PARO; (2) Therapeutic effects of PARO; (3) Limitations of PARO; and (4) Program improvement. Residents with dementia expressed positive attitudes towards the use of PARO and acknowledged the therapeutic benefits of PARO on mood improvement and relaxation for pain relief but also mentioned the limitations of its weight, voice and characteristics. Residents' responses could also fluctuate during the intervention process, and individual preferences need to be considered. CONCLUSIONS: The PARO intervention is a promising intervention to improve positive emotion and there is some anecdotal evidence that pain may be decreased from the perspectives of people living with chronic pain and dementia. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Long-term care staff may incorporate PARO therapy into daily dementia care. Understanding of individual's preferences may enhance the implementation of PARO for pain management in this group.
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View more >BACKGROUND: Interacting with social robots, such as the robotic seal PARO, has been shown to improve mood and acute pain for people with dementia. Little attention has been paid to the effect of PARO on people with dementia and chronic pain. OBJECTIVE: To explore how people with mild to moderate dementia and chronic pain perceive PARO as an alternative intervention to manage their pain and mood. DESIGN: A descriptive qualitative approach nested within a pilot randomised controlled trial. METHODS: Participants with dementia and chronic pain were recruited from three residential aged care facilities. They interacted with PARO for 30 min, five days a week over a six-week period. A sample of 11 participants completed individual semi-structured interviews at the end of the intervention. Data were collected from January 2018 to January 2019. Inductive thematic analysis was undertaken. Reporting of findings followed the COREQ checklist. RESULTS: Four themes emerged from the data: (1) Perceptions of PARO; (2) Therapeutic effects of PARO; (3) Limitations of PARO; and (4) Program improvement. Residents with dementia expressed positive attitudes towards the use of PARO and acknowledged the therapeutic benefits of PARO on mood improvement and relaxation for pain relief but also mentioned the limitations of its weight, voice and characteristics. Residents' responses could also fluctuate during the intervention process, and individual preferences need to be considered. CONCLUSIONS: The PARO intervention is a promising intervention to improve positive emotion and there is some anecdotal evidence that pain may be decreased from the perspectives of people living with chronic pain and dementia. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Long-term care staff may incorporate PARO therapy into daily dementia care. Understanding of individual's preferences may enhance the implementation of PARO for pain management in this group.
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Journal Title
Journal of Clinical Nursing
Copyright Statement
© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: How people with dementia perceive a therapeutic robot called PARO in relation to their pain and mood: A qualitative study, Journal of Clinical Nursing, 2019, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15104. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving (http://olabout.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-828039.html)
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This publication has been entered into Griffith Research Online as an Advanced Online Version
Subject
Nursing
Cognitive and computational psychology
Health services and systems
dementia
mood
pain
qualitative study
social robot