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BACKGROUND: Many inpatients become anxious or frightened about scheduled treatment processes, and medical staff do not have sufficient time to provide emotional support. The recent advancement of information and communications technology (ICT) and the use of artificial intelligence (AI), including robots, in the health care field is being put to the test. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop a bedside robot system to deliver information and provide emotional support to inpatients and to evaluate the usability and perceptions of the developed robot. METHODS: The first stage was accomplished by deriving essential functions from the results of user demand surveys on robots and by implementing a prototype by mapping each essential function to the robot’s hardware and software. For the second stage, the robot was assessed for usability and perceptions in a simulation center, a hospital-like environment, by 10 nurses, 10 inpatients, and family caregivers. Usability and perception were evaluated using the think-aloud method, a survey, and individual interviews. RESULTS: Based on the usability evaluation, the perceived usefulness, ease of use, and satisfaction were 5.28 ± 1.27 points, 5.42 ± 1.55 points, and 5.27 ± 1.46 points out of 7, respectively. It was found that overall, the robot was positively perceived by participants. As a result of the qualitative data analysis, the participants perceived the robot as an object that had the positive effect of providing emotional support through communication. CONCLUSIONS: The bedside robot in this study, which incorporated human-robot interaction (HRI) technology, is an alternative suited to the new normal era that will contribute to ensuring that patients have more self-directed hospital stays as well as emotional support through information delivery and communication.

To examine the need for information and communication technology (ICT)-based nursing care in improving patient management during the pandemic.Maintaining traditional approaches to nursing in the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic predisposes health care systems to a risk of diminished quality of care. Using ICT (real-time videoconferencing, mobile robots and artificial intelligence) could reduce burnout and infection risks by minimizing face-to-face contact.Qualitative descriptive design with content analysis.Overall, 24 participants (14 nurses, six medical/nursing informatics experts and four technology experts) were interviewed. Three main themes were extracted: emerging challenges for nurses due to COVID-19, impact of new technology on patient and nurse experiences and concerns with implementation of technology.A significant portion of nurses' work was unrelated to professional nursing, causing burnout. ICT could help reduce nurses' burden by facilitating environmental management and non-contact communication and providing emotional support for patients.Establishing an ICT-based nursing care system that considers the physical environment and communication infrastructure of health care institutions, user's digital health literacy and user safety to effectively manage non-nursing care-related activities and undertake tasks that can be delegated may improve the quality of care for quarantined patients and reduce risk of cross-infection.

Background: HF is a burden on healthcare resources due to the high cost of frequent readmissions. Predictive models have been reported for the post-discharge prognosis of HF. However, these models mostly included non-modifiable factors and their predictive accuracy was limited. This implies that potentially modifiable factors are needed, which could be attributed to the discharge process. This study aimed to explore the relationship between the discharge process and post-discharge events in patients with HF.Methods: Medical records were reviewed to identify patients who were admitted for HF exacerbation. Information related to the discharge process included post-discharge clinic appointments, educational contents before discharge, and family participation during patient education. HF-related events were defined as a composite of events, including emergency department visits, readmissions, or death. A multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to explore the association between the discharge process and HF-related events.Results: Of 201 patients, 41 had at least one HF-related event. Post-discharge clinic appointments were scheduled 8 days after discharge. Patients received their discharge education on average of one topic, and approximately the families of 70% of the patients participated in this educational activity. In the Cox regression model, family participation during education was independently associated with a longer time to HF events (hazard ratio: 2.105). However, and post-discharge follow-up appointments and the number of educational contents received were not associated with the time to HF events. Conclusion: We found that family participation during education is a protective factor for adverse prognosis in patients with HF. Our results highlight the importance of family engagement in HF management.

Robotic systems are used to support inpatients and healthcare professionals and to improve the efficiency and quality of nursing. There is a lack of scientific literature on how applied robotic systems can be used to support inpatients. This study uses surveys and focus group interviews to identify the necessary aspects and functions of bedside robots for inpatients. A total of 90 healthcare professionals and 108 inpatients completed the questionnaire, and four physicians and five nurses participated in the focus group interviews. The most highly desired functionalities were related to patient care and monitoring, including alerting staff, measuring vital signs, and sensing falls. Nurses and physicians reported different needs for human-robot interaction. Nurses valued robotic functions such as nonverbal expression recognition, automatic movement, content suggestion, and emotional expressions. The results of the patients' open-ended questions and healthcare professionals' focus groups indicate that the purpose of the robots should primarily be treatment and nursing. Participants believe bedside robots would be helpful but have concerns regarding safety and utility. This study attempts to determine which aspects of robots may increase their acceptance. Our findings suggest that if robots are used in healthcare institutions, they may improve the effectiveness of care.

This study aims to analyze the concept of companion robots for older adults from the perspective of nursing. This study employed a concept analysis. The literature from July 2011 to June 2021 was sought from databases using specific keywords. Any quantitative or qualitative study published in English or Korean focusing on companion robots for older adults was included in the study. Rodgers' evolutionary concept analysis was used to clarify the antecedents, attributes, and consequences. Seventy-five eligible articles were studied. The findings were categorized into antecedents, attributes, and consequences. Companion robot antecedents were classified into individual factors, attitude toward robots, and caregiver and social factors. The defining attributes included human-robot interaction, function, features, structure, cost, and management of the robot being a companion. Consequences were categorized into user, caregiver, and health related. Companion robots are designed to enhance well-being, quality of life, and independence by providing service and companionship and assisting daily life. This mainly includes cognitive and social support, mobility support, relaxation, health monitoring, and self-care support through human-robot interaction. The attributes, antecedents, and consequences of companion robots identified in this study can inform future decision making and interventions by caregivers for aging in place.

Background Telepresence robots used to deliver a point-of-care (POC) consultation system that may provide value to enable effective decision making by healthcare providers at care sites. Objectives This study aimed to evaluate usability of teleconsultation robots, based on endusers' needs, that can improve acceptance in future robot applications. Methods This is a single group postdesign study using mixed methods to assess the usability of teleconsultation robots using scenarios. To collect opinions from various departments, 15 nurses or physicians currently working at medical institutions in Korea were selected using purposive sampling. The usability evaluation was conducted on healthcare providers twice at the simulation center; the think-aloud method was used and surveys and interviews were conducted to identify problems or improvements that may arise from the use of robots in hospital settings. Results The results showed that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and satisfaction level each scored 4 points or higher out of 7 points, showing usability of midhigh level. Camera angle control and robot driving functions were the most difficult. Other basic robot user interface was shown to be relatively easy. There was no difference in usability depending on the characteristics of the evaluator. Some functions including user interface were modified based on the usability test. Conclusion Using robots in health care institutions may support effective communication among healthcare providers, thus contributing to health care improvement.

Background Lack of time for exercise is common among office workers given their busy lives. Because of occupational restrictions and difficulty in taking time off, it is necessary to suggest effective ways for workers to exercise regularly. Sustaining lifestyle habits that increase nonexercise activity in daily life can solve the issue of lack of exercise time. Healthy Lifestyle Coaching Chatbot is a messenger app based on the habit formation model that can be used as a tool to provide a health behavior intervention that emphasizes the importance of sustainability and involvement. Objective This study aimed to assess the efficacy of the Healthy Lifestyle Coaching Chatbot intervention presented via a messenger app aimed at stair-climbing habit formation for office workers. Methods From February 1, 2018, to April 30, 2018, a total of 106 people participated in the trial after online recruitment. Participants were randomly assigned to the intervention group (n=57) or the control group (n=49). The intervention group received cues and intrinsic and extrinsic rewards for the entire 12 weeks. However, the control group did not receive intrinsic rewards for the first 4 weeks and only received all rewards as in the intervention group from the fifth to twelfth week. The Self-Report Habit Index (SRHI) of participants was evaluated every week, and the level of physical activity was measured at the beginning and end of the trial. SPSS Statistics version 21 (IBM Corp) was used for statistical analysis. Results After 4 weeks of intervention without providing the intrinsic rewards in the control group, the change in SRHI scores was 13.54 (SD 14.99) in the intervention group and 6.42 (SD 9.42) in the control group, indicating a significant difference between the groups (P=.04). When all rewards were given to both groups, from the fifth to twelfth week, the change in SRHI scores of the intervention and control groups was comparable at 12.08 (SD 10.87) and 15.88 (SD 13.29), respectively (P=.21). However, the level of physical activity showed a significant difference between the groups after 12 weeks of intervention (P=.045). Conclusions This study provides evidence that intrinsic rewards are important to enhance the sustainability and effectiveness of an intervention. The Healthy Lifestyle Coaching Chatbot program can be a cost-effective method for healthy habit formation. Trial Registration Clinical Research Information Service KCT0004009; https://tinyurl.com/w4oo7md

BACKGROUND Lack of time for exercise is common among office workers given their busy lives. Because of occupational restrictions and difficulty in taking time off, it is necessary to suggest effective ways for workers to exercise regularly. Sustaining lifestyle habits that increase nonexercise activity in daily life can solve the issue of lack of exercise time. Healthy Lifestyle Coaching Chatbot is a messenger app based on the habit formation model that can be used as a tool to provide a health behavior intervention that emphasizes the importance of sustainability and involvement. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to assess the efficacy of the Healthy Lifestyle Coaching Chatbot intervention presented via a messenger app aimed at stair-climbing habit formation for office workers. METHODS From February 1, 2018, to April 30, 2018, a total of 106 people participated in the trial after online recruitment. Participants were randomly assigned to the intervention group (n=57) or the control group (n=49). The intervention group received cues and intrinsic and extrinsic rewards for the entire 12 weeks. However, the control group did not receive intrinsic rewards for the first 4 weeks and only received all rewards as in the intervention group from the fifth to twelfth week. The Self-Report Habit Index (SRHI) of participants was evaluated every week, and the level of physical activity was measured at the beginning and end of the trial. SPSS Statistics version 21 (IBM Corp) was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS After 4 weeks of intervention without providing the intrinsic rewards in the control group, the change in SRHI scores was 13.54 (SD 14.99) in the intervention group and 6.42 (SD 9.42) in the control group, indicating a significant difference between the groups (P=.04). When all rewards were given to both groups, from the fifth to twelfth week, the change in SRHI scores of the intervention and control groups was comparable at 12.08 (SD 10.87) and 15.88 (SD 13.29), respectively (P=.21). However, the level of physical activity showed a significant difference between the groups after 12 weeks of intervention (P=.045). CONCLUSIONS This study provides evidence that intrinsic rewards are important to enhance the sustainability and effectiveness of an intervention. The Healthy Lifestyle Coaching Chatbot program can be a cost-effective method for healthy habit formation. CLINICALTRIAL Clinical Research Information Service KCT0004009; https://tinyurl.com/w4oo7md

Background: Development of a point-of-care (POC) consultation system based on telepresence robots is needed to enable effective decision-making by medical staff at care sites. Introduction...

The purpose of the simulation performed in this study was to assess the requirements for a point-of-care (POC) bedside robot for patient education and emotional care; the simulation also facilitates defining the essential elements and functions of a robot before robot system development. The major functionalities evaluated in the simulation were: 1) bidirectional video system; 2) support system of doctor counseling; 3) voice recognition, and 4) ability to recognize non-verbal expressions. The evaluators reported the high feasibility and satisfactory performance of the POC bedside robot. While there are challenges, incorporating this technology into healthcare services will enhance the quality of inpatient hospital experiences and help healthcare providers in supporting patients.