Abstract

The healthcare sector is currently under enormous pressure and the COVID-19 pandemic does not improve this situation. The quality of healthcare will be negatively impacted when this pressure continues in the longer term. In 2050 it is expected that a total of 2.1 billion people will be aged 60+ years old. To overcome the increasing demand for healthcare by this age group, various studies are being conducted into various technological solutions, such as social robots. In this study, the Alpha Mini social robot was used in an experiment to research which tasks a social robot could assist with, to reduce the work pressure of healthcare professionals and to help the elderly live longer at their own homes. The experiment was carried out using interviews with healthcare professionals and informal caregivers about the demonstrated Alpha Mini. In addition to the experiment and interviews a survey was sent out to 237 healthcare organizations in the Netherlands to identify the 1) work pressure, 2) daily tasks, 3) social robot experiences, and 4) the features a social robot should have to gather requirements. The experiment failed due to work pressure at the healthcare organization. The survey resulted in 181 respondents. The results suggest that tasks such as reminders, setting alarms and physiotherapy have a great potential to help the healthcare professional in reducing their work pressure and tasks, and the elderly to be able to stay living longer at their own home.

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