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Background Psychosocial issues, such as social isolation and loneliness among older adults and people with dementia, continue to pose challenges with a rapidly aging population worldwide. Social robots are a rapidly emerging field of technology, developed to help address the psychosocial needs of this population. Although studies have reported positive findings regarding their psychosocial benefits, their implementation in real-world practice remains a challenge. Nevertheless, little is known about the factors affecting their implementation. The purpose of this review is to provide a systematic overview of the barriers and facilitators affecting the implementation of social robots for older adults and people with dementia. Method The Arksey and O’Malley approach with methodological enhancement by Levac et al. was used to guide the conduct of this review. Seven electronic databases were searched. In addition, hand searching and backward citation tracing was conducted. Three independent reviewers were involved in the screening and data charting process. Findings were synthesised and categorised into the five domains outlined in the Consolidated Framework of Implementation Research (CFIR). Results A total of 53 studies were included in the final review. Most of the included studies were based in participants’ homes and in care facilities. Barriers and facilitators were mapped onto 18 constructs in the five domains of the CFIR. The most frequently cited barriers were mapped to the constructs within the domain of “Intervention characteristics”, where issues such as the complexity of using the technology and technical obstacles impeded implementation. Most facilitators were mapped onto the domain “Patient needs and resources”. Overall, existing research are disproportionately focused on the internal validity (i.e. characteristics) of social robots, and there is significantly less research investigating their external validity, such as organisational or wider contextual factors that can affect their implementation in real-world practice. Conclusion This review has identified and synthesised the breadth of evidence on the barriers and facilitators to the implementation of social robots for older adults and people with dementia. Future research should pay more attention to investigating the contextual factors, using an implementation framework, to identify barriers and facilitators to guide the implementation of social robots.

IntroductionThe Dementia Leaders programme aims to enhance active public involvement in dementia research by developing a programme for potential coresearchers that includes the perspectives of individuals who experience the disease directly, such as people living with dementia, their informal caregivers and healthcare professionals. The planned study will evaluate this programme (which includes workshops, webinars and online meetings) with a focus on, for example, the content and structure of the programme as well as the experience of the participants regarding their active involvement.Methods and analysisA mixed-methods design will be used to evaluate the Dementia Leaders programme. For this purpose, we will conduct semistructured interviews with the participants in the programme. Additionally, we will conduct an online survey after each webinar associated with the programme. The data will be analysed using qualitative content analysis (for the interview data and the open-ended questions included in the online survey) and by employing descriptive statistical methods (for the closed-ended questions of the online survey). Finally, the results obtained via both analytical methods will be synthesised, interpreted and discussed.Ethics and disseminationThis study received approval from the ethics committee of the German Society of Nursing Science (Number 25-014). The results will be presented and published alongside the coresearchers at (inter)national conferences and in journals targeting practitioners, caregivers and people living with dementia as well as in peer-reviewed journals.

Background Psychosocial health issues such as depression and social isolation are an important cause of morbidity and premature mortality for older adults and people with dementia. Social robots are promising technological innovations to deliver effective psychosocial interventions to promote psychosocial wellbeing. Studies have reported positive findings regarding this technology on the psychosocial health of older adults and people with dementia. However, despite positive findings of the effects of social robots for older adults and people with dementia, little is known about factors affecting their implementation in practice. Methods This study follows Arksey and O’Malley’s approach and methodological enhancement by Levac et al. Relevant articles will be identified by searching electronic databases: MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Scopus, Web of Science, Compendex and PubMed. A two-phase screening process will be undertaken by two independent reviewers to determine articles’ inclusion. Findings will be summarised and reported thematically based on domains in the Consolidated Framework of Implementation Research (CFIR) and presented narratively. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) will guide the reporting of findings. Discussion Reporting the protocol in advance of conducting the review will ensure that rigorous and transparent methodological approach is undertaken. The outcomes of the review include identifying variants in terminologies used to describe implementation, identifying the scope of the literature regarding the barriers and facilitators affecting the implementation of social robots and identifying research gaps to guide further empirical research in this field. This evidence synthesis constitutes part of a bigger project aimed to develop implementation guidelines for social robotics for older adults with dementia. Since the methodological process consists of reviewing and collecting data from publicly available data, this study does not require approval from a research ethics board. Scoping review registration Our protocol is registered with the Open Science Framework ( https://osf.io/2x3y9/ ) as an open access article, under the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC-4.0) license, which allows others to distribute, remix, adapt and build on this work on a non-commercial basis, and license their derivative work using different terms, on the basis that the original basis is properly cited and the use is non-commercial ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ ).

In this article, we explore how pet robots come into being in a Danish nursing home for people with dementia, based on five months of ethnographic fieldwork. We argue that the researcher and the robot become an assembled temporary figure in the nursing home: the woman with the dog. We show how pet robots are characterized by their fluidity and can go from being mechanical robots to living animals in a matter of seconds during interactions with nursing home residents. The social robots are fragile technologies that disappear and cease to be used if people in the nursing home stop caring for them. Through relationships, the pet robots come into being together with other actors in the nursing home – a process that requires tinkering (Mol, Moser, and Pols 2010) and flexibility from those working with the robots. We argue that the woman with the dog can develop caring relations with the residents, but although there are hopes that pet robots are one of the technologies that can save a welfare state and care system under pressure, this is not something that can be done by the pet robots alone. Rather, the robots need care and tinkering to become embedded in the nursing home.

Objective This study aimed to identify factors that hinder or facilitate the implementation of an exergaming technology, SilverFit Mile, which offers virtual cycling, for nursing home residents with dementia in and its potential impact on feelings of loneliness. Methods The study followed a descriptive qualitative approach using semi structured interviews with eight care professionals in nursing homes in the Netherlands and based on the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Thematic text analysis was used to analyze the interviews. Results We identified three main themes and twelve subthemes based on the CFIR. The main themes were residents’ personal characteristics, implementation factors, and loneliness. SilverFit Mile was more suitable for those familiar with cycling and those who enjoyed more solitary activities. Organizational factors such as staff's low digital literacy, lack of time, and need for training were found barriers to implementation, while facilitators included fostering social interaction. Conclusions SilverFit Mile was considered positively by care staff based on observations of persons living with dementia. We identified loneliness as a relevant outcome of SilverFit Mile implementation. We argue that SilverFit Mile can foster social interaction between residents and staff through reminiscence or the physical aspect of cycling. However, a better understanding of the connection between loneliness and the use of SilverFit Mile is needed. Overall, our research provides initial ideas about how exergaming technology might address loneliness in dementia.

In the lives of people with dementia, loneliness is an important issue with psychological and physical consequences. Active assisted living (AAL) technology has been gaining visibility in the care of persons living with dementia, including addressing loneliness. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is a lack of evidence concerning the factors influencing the implementation of AAL technology within the context of dementia, loneliness, and long-term care (LTC). We aimed to identify the familiarity with AAL technology that is promising for addressing loneliness in persons living with dementia in LTC in Europe and the factors influencing AAL technology implementation. A web-based survey was developed based on findings from our previous literature review. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research guided the development and analysis of the survey. Participants included 24 representatives of Alzheimer Europe member associations from 15 European countries. The data were analyzed using basic statistical methods (descriptive statistics). The baby seal robot Paro was reported to be the most familiar AAL technology by 19 of 24 participants addressing loneliness in people with dementia living in LTC. Participants from Norway (n=2) reported familiarity with 14 AAL technologies, and participants from Serbia (n=1) reported zero familiarity. It seems that countries that invest less in LTC facilities are familiar with fewer AAL technologies. At the same time, these countries report a more positive attitude toward AAL technology, express a higher need for it, and see more advantages than disadvantages than those countries that invest more in LTC. However, a country's investment in LTC facilities does not seem to be linked to other implementation aspects such as costs, planning, and the impact of infrastructure. Implementation of AAL technology to address loneliness in dementia seems to be linked to familiarity with the technology in a country as well as national investment in LTC facilities. This survey confirms the literature on higher investment countries' critical stance in regard to AAL technology implementation to address loneliness in persons living with dementia living in LTC. Further research is needed to clarify the potential reasons why familiarity with more AAL technology does not seem to be directly linked with acceptance, positive attitude, or satisfaction with AAL technology addressing loneliness in persons living with dementia.

In dementia care, access to effective psychosocial interventions is often addressed by evidence-based guidelines for care providers. However, it is unclear if current guidelines consider personal characteristics that may impact intervention effectiveness. This study investigates if, and within what framing, dementia care guidelines in Europe address what is effective and for whom. A review of 47 guidelines from 12 European countries was conducted. Content analysis focused on (i) if guidelines recommended specific psychosocial interventions, and how guidelines referred to (ii) social health, (iii) the intersection of social positioning, and (iv) inequities in care or outcomes. Thirty-five guidelines (74%) recommended specific psychosocial interventions. Around half referenced aspects of social health and of intersectionality. Thirteen guidelines (28%) referenced inequities. Social health was not explicitly recognised as a mechanism of psychosocial interventions. Only age and comorbidity were consistently considered to impact interventions’ effectiveness. Inequities were acknowledged to arise from within-country regional variations and individual economic status, but were not linked to (intersectional) individual societal positions such as sex and/or gender, sexuality, and/or religion. The results between European countries were heterogeneous. Current guidelines offer little insight into what works for whom. Policymakers and guideline developers should work with researchers, generating and translating evidence into policy.

Social robots are increasingly used in the care of older adults, including people living with dementia. An important prerequisite for effective use is knowledge about which factors facilitate and hinder the acceptance of social robots. The aim of this review at the intersection of health care research and human–robot interaction research is to understand factors facilitating and hindering the acceptance of social robots for older adults and people living with dementia in nursing homes based on the Almere model and to identify research gaps. We conducted a scoping review, systematically searching MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL and Compendex. The Almere model of acceptance was used to guide the development and conduct of this review. We used the principles of deductive content analysis, and we narratively present the review results. Twenty-six studies were included in the review. We found facilitating and/or hindering factors for all constructs of the Almere model. Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and perceived enjoyment were the most studied constructs, whereas trust and intention to use were the least studied constructs. Across constructs, seeing robots positively impacting residents was one of the key facilitating factors, and practical difficulties were a hindering factor. The Almere model provided useful insight into the acceptance of social robots. Nevertheless, we found the concept of engagement, the nursing home context, the intervention characteristics and the individual user groups important for the acceptance of social robots in nursing homes and therefore argue for future research expanding on the model.

Background Psychosocial health issues such as depression and social isolation are an important cause of morbidity and premature mortality for older adults and people with dementia. Social robots are promising technological innovations to deliver effective psychosocial interventions to promote psychosocial wellbeing. Studies have reported positive findings regarding this technology on the psychosocial health of older adults and people with dementia. However, despite positive findings of the effects of social robots for older adults and people with dementia, little is known about factors affecting their implementation in practice. Methods This study follows Arksey and O’Malley’s approach and methodological enhancement by Levac et al (2010). Relevant articles will be identified by searching electronic databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Scopus, Web of Science, Compendex and PubMed. A two-phase screening process will be undertaken by two independent reviewers to determine articles’ inclusion. Findings will be summarized and reported thematically based on domains in the Consolidated Framework of Implementation Research (CFIR) and presented narratively. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) will guide the reporting of findings. Discussion Reporting the protocol in advance of conducting the review will ensure a rigorous and transparent methodological approach is undertaken. The outcomes of the review include identifying variants in terminologies used to describe implementation, identifying the scope of the literature regarding the barriers and facilitators affecting the implementation of social robots, and identify research gaps to guide further empirical research in this field. This evidence synthesis constitutes part of a bigger project aimed to develop implementation guidelines for social robotics for older adults with dementia. Since the methodological process consists of reviewing and collecting data from publicly available data, this study does not require approval from a research ethics board. Scoping Review Registration Our protocol is registered with the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/2x3y9/) as an open access article, under the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC-4.0) license, which allows others to distribute, remix, adapt and build on this work on a non-commercial basis, and license their derivative work using different terms, on the basis that the original basis is properly cited and the use is non-commercial (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).