Exploring the Role of Robots in Inpatient Care: Caregivers´ Perspectives on the Development and Evaluation of Collaborative Robot Applications – A Qualitative Research Approach

Abstract Although current approaches to robotics for healthcare show promising opportunities for support in various fields of application, they often do not yet provide substantial relief in the work routines of caregivers. A key challenge is that normative principles of good care are still insufficiently considered in the conceptualization. In order to develop approaches that are adapted to these principles, it is crucial to align technical capabilities and agency with professional intervention goals and needs. Based on a qualitative research approach with semi-structured interviews, this work aims at (1) developing two robot-assisted application scenarios based on caregivers’ requirements, (2) identifying associated prerequisites for agency and robot-capabilities, and (3) identifying target-group related evaluation criteria for robot use. 30 healthcare professionals were included in the study. The results show that most participants support the areas of application we proposed for discussion. Depending on the robots’ capabilities and the medical conditions of the care receivers, the robots were granted a high degree of autonomy. At the same time, caregivers must be involved at various times to fulfill their responsibility for the care process. Acceptance- and process-related criteria were identified for the evaluation of the robot application. Our study revealed that a successful use of robotics requires an early involvement of user groups in order to derive relevant robot capabilities and to transfer them into a robust concept of the distribution of agency and responsibility between caregiver, robot, and care receiver.