Socially Assistive Robots Assisting Older Adults in an Internet and Smart Healthcare Era: A Literature Review

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the effects of socially assistive robots (SARs) on emotional health and social interaction in older adults through a literature review and metaanalysis. From inception to August 2022, we used keywords (involving combinations of AND and OR Boolean operators) to search the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, IEEE Digital Library, PsycINFO, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Chinese Electronic Periodical Service for randomized and controlled trials. RevMan 5.4.1 software was used for the meta-analysis, and the Cochrane Collaboration’s bias assessment was used to evaluate the quality of the articles. The meta-analysis comprised a complete of four studies. SARs provides older adults with the happiness of positive emotional health and improve their social interaction through conversation and companionship. Socially assistive robots can enhance positive emotions in older adults. They also alleviate the healthcare workers’ strain during the COVID-19 pandemic. For more precise conclusions, more careful designs, and standardized programs to accumulate different results are required.