Older people living alone
Conditions
Interventions
We will install a conversational companion robot equipped with a large language model (LLM) in the homes of older adults living alone and conduct a 12-week in-home use period. At the start of the stud
thereafter, participants will interact with the robot as they wish in their daily lives. Although the research team has a target level of use, participants will be informed that they may use the robot
s request or for safety reasons (e.g., adverse events).
Sponsors
The University of Osaka
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: Community-dwelling older adults aged 65 or older who live alone.
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: Diagnosed dementia Uncontrolled physical illness or severe psychiatric conditions Hearing impairment significantly impeding spoken communication (not adequately compensated by hearing devices)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Primary Outcome: 12-week usage retention rate Definition: Proportion of participants who achieve "successful use" over the 12-week home-use period. Successful use: Meeting the minimum use threshold in >=80% of evaluable weeks, defined as >=20 minutes/day on >=3 days/week. Handling of dropout: Weeks after withdrawal are counted as evaluable weeks and treated as not meeting the threshold. Evaluable week: A week not primarily affected by travel, hospitalisation, or other force majeure circumstances, prespecified and verified using system logs and participant reports. Data source: Device/server logs collected via NTT West Japan servers (number of device activations, number of dialogue sessions, cumulative dialogue time), supplemented by manual records if needed. | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Consent rate: number of participants who provided informed consent/number of individuals who received a one-to-one study explanation Number of adverse events occurring during the study period Use frequency and duration (number of device activations, number of dialogue sessions, cumulative dialogue time) Number of requests for technical support Number of researcher visits prompted by technical issues Change in CCR (Connection-Coordination Rapport) scale scores (rapport) Change in B-LAPS-Ro (Brief Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale-Robot version) scores (attachment) | — |
Countries
Japan
Contacts
Public ContactYuto Satake
The University of Osaka Department of Psychiatry
Outcome results
None listed