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Designing for those who are Overlooked - Investigating long-term Impacts of Social Robotics for People with Advanced Dementia, Caregivers and Relatives in a Secured Care Environment
Elisabeth Raß, David Unbehaun, Konstantin Aal, Jutta Tandler, Gaby Lenz, Volker Wulf. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 2025-01-10
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
This paper presents the results of a long-term exploratory study that examined the social and emotional impact of using a social robot with a variety of applications to promote activities for people with advanced dementia and their caregivers. Qualitative data was collected over 10-months in a secured care environment in which we explored the appropriation of a social robot by 23 participants, including 13 PwAD, their family members, and professional caregivers. Our findings indicate that the use of the social robot demonstrated the potential to improve well-being, engagement, and social interaction of PwAD, even demonstrating the ability to create new memories and experiences. We discuss requirements and challenges in integrating social robots into secured care environments to provide a nuanced understanding for future research aiming for appropriate and inclusive care outcomes and socially embedded innovations that address the social actors involved and thus contribute to practical solutions for professional care.
Key findings
- This paper presents the results of a long-term exploratory study that examined the social and emotional impact of using a social robot with a variety of applications to promote activities for people with advanced dementia and their caregivers.
- Our findings indicate that the use of the social robot demonstrated the potential to improve well-being, engagement, and social interaction of PwAD, even demonstrating the ability to create new memories and experiences.
Why it matters
In this 10-month exploratory study, a social robot was used with 13 people with advanced dementia, their family members, and professional caregivers in a secured care environment. Findings suggest potential to improve well-being, engagement, and social interaction, but the authors present this as early work needing future research.
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Study details
- Participants23
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 40/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction: journal h-index 108 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 23 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 2 / 7 | Cited 7 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 1 / 5 | 2.3 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 8.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 7 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Volker Wulf: h-index 55 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | University of Siegen: institution h-index 400 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 40 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Raß, E., Unbehaun, D., Aal, K., Tandler, J., Lenz, G., & Wulf, V. (2025). Designing for those who are Overlooked - Investigating long-term Impacts of Social Robotics for People with Advanced Dementia, Caregivers and Relatives in a Secured Care Environment. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction. https://doi.org/10.1145/3701190
Vancouver
Raß E, Unbehaun D, Aal K, Tandler J, Lenz G, Wulf V. Designing for those who are Overlooked - Investigating long-term Impacts of Social Robotics for People with Advanced Dementia, Caregivers and Relatives in a Secured Care Environment. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction. 2025. doi:10.1145/3701190.
BibTeX
@article{rass2025-37d0f930,
author = {Raß, Elisabeth and Unbehaun, David and Aal, Konstantin and Tandler, Jutta and Lenz, Gaby and Wulf, Volker},
title = {{Designing for those who are Overlooked - Investigating long-term Impacts of Social Robotics for People with Advanced Dementia, Caregivers and Relatives in a Secured Care Environment}},
journal = {Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1145/3701190},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3701190}
}
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