The Impact of Telepresence Robots on Family Caregivers and Residents in Long-Term Care
department or school: Applied Science, Faculty of
department or school: Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
department or school: Non UBC
department or school: Biomedical Engineering, School of
data provider: DSpace
identifier citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 22 (5): 713 (2025)
contributor: University of British Columbia. Innovation in Dementia and Aging Lab
creator: Hung, Lillian
creator: Wong, Joey Oi Yee
creator: Ren, Haopu (Lily)
creator: Zhao, Yong
creator: Fu, Jason Jincheng
creator: Mann, Jim
creator: Li, Lun
issued: 2025-05-30T20:58:56Z
issued: 2025-05-01
description: Telepresence robots can enhance social connection and support person-centered care in long-term care (LTC) homes. This study evaluates their impact in facilitating virtual visits between family caregivers and older residents in Canadian LTC homes. Telepresence robots were placed in residents’ rooms, allowing virtual visits at mutual convenience. A total of 18 residents and 17 family caregivers participated. Quantitative assessments included the Zarit Burden Interview, the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, and the Quality of Life in Alzheimer’s Disease scale, while qualitative data were collected through interviews, field notes, and observations. Repeated ANOVA showed that using telepresence robots significantly reduced caregiver burden (p = 0.008), improved residents’ quality of life (p = 0.028), and decreased resident loneliness (p = 0.038). Older caregivers experienced the greatest burden reduction, with scores dropping from a mean of 25.0 at baseline to 16.1 at two months. Qualitative findings provided further context, revealing that residents felt more connected, close, and engaged, while families found the robots facilitated continuity of care, complemented in-person visits, reduced stress and guilt, and provided reassurance. These findings suggest that telepresence robots can enhance the well-being of both residents and caregivers in LTC homes, though future research should explore their long-term impact and technological limitations.
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/91246
note: Academic Editor: GiovanniLuca MasalaReceived: 19 March 2025Revised: 17 April 2025Accepted: 28 April 2025Published: 1 May 2025Citation: Hung, L.; Wong, J.O.Y.; Ren,H.; Zhao, Y.; Fu, J.J.; Mann, J.; Li, L. TheImpact of Telepresence Robots onFamily Caregivers and Residents inLong-Term Care. Int. J. Environ. Res.Public Health 2025, 22, 713. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22050713Copyright: © 2025 by the authors.Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.This article is an open access articledistributed under the terms andconditions of the Creative CommonsAttribution (CC BY) license(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).ArticleThe Impact of Telepresence Robots on Family Caregivers andResidents in Long-Term CareLillian Hung 1,2,* , Joey Oi Yee Wong 1,2, Haopu (Lily) Ren 1,3 , Yong Zhao 1 , Jason Jincheng Fu 1,4, Jim Mann 1and Lun Li 51 IDEA Lab, School of Nursing, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 2B5, Canada2 School of Nursing, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 2B5, Canada3 School of Interdisciplinary Studies, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 2B5, Canada4 School of Biomedical Engineering, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 2B5, Canada5 Department of Social Work, MacEwan University, Edmonton, AB T5H 0K9, Canada* Correspondence: lillian.hung@ubc.caAbstract: Telepresence robots can enhance social connection and support person-centeredcare in long-term care (LTC) homes. This study evaluates their impact in facilitating virtualvisits between family caregivers and older residents in Canadian LTC homes. Telepresencerobots were placed in residents’ rooms, allowing virtual visits at mutual convenience.A total of 18 residents and 17 family caregivers participated. Quantitative assessmentsincluded the Zarit Burden Interview, the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, and theQuality of Life in Alzheimer’s Disease scale, while qualitative data were collected throughinterviews, field notes, and observations. Rep…
has type: Article
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0449000
language: eng
peer review status: Reviewed
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
publisher DOI: 10.3390/ijerph22050713
rights: CC BY 4.0
rights URI: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
scholar level: Faculty
scholar level: Researcher
subject: telepresence robots
subject: long-term care
subject: quality of life
subject: loneliness
subject: caregiver burden
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/91246