Social Robots in Hospitals: A Systematic Review

Hospital environments are facing new challenges this century. One of the most important is the quality of services to patients. Social robots are gaining prominence due to the advantages they offer; in particular, several of their main uses have proven beneficial during the pandemic. This study aims to shed light on the current status of the design of social robots and their interaction with patients. To this end, a systematic review was conducted using WoS and MEDLINE, and the results were exhaustive analyzed. The authors found that most of the initiatives and projects serve the elderly and children, and specifically, that they helped these groups fight diseases such as dementia, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), cancer, and diabetes.This work has been supported by the PERGAMEX ACTIVE project, Ref. RTI2018-096986- B-C32, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation

Bonding with Robotic Pets. Children’s Cognitions, Emotions and Behaviors towards Pet-Robots. Applications in a Robot Assisted Quality of Life Intervention in a Pediatric Hospital

[eng] This dissertation addresses the emergence of emotional involvement in the interaction with social robots. More specifically, we investigate the dynamics of children bonding with robotic pets to design robot based programs to improve patients’ experience in pediatric hospitals. Pet-robots are robots that mimic real pets as dogs or cats, both in appearance and in behavior. We assume that gaining understanding of the emotional dimension of children/pet-robots interaction would contribute to evaluate the impact of pet-robots in children’s lives, and to inform both robots’ design and robot-based applications for health and wellbeing. First, this research presents a novel model of bonding with robotic pets inspired in the human-animal affiliation and particularly in child-dog relatedness, where bonding is envisaged as a process towards companionship that evolves through three stages –first impression, short-term interaction and lasting relationship- characterized by distinguishable patterns of behaviors, cognitions and feelings that can be identified and measured. Secondly, a behavioral analysis of children interacting with the Pleo robot -a robotic pet shaped as a baby dinosaur-, with an emphasis on the interactional surface and particularly on the sequences of dyad’s reciprocal exchange is presented. The outcomes are twofold: the ethograms and coding schemes of Pleo’s and children’s behaviors and a higher level categorization of behaviors involved in bond forming that can be applied to other platforms and users. Thirdly, a naturalistic study carried out in a pediatric hospital to observe the interactive practices with the Pleo robot in the wild and to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a Pleo-based intervention to accompany children is analyzed and discussed. Inspired on the beneficial effects of real pets’ company, the study consisted in an intensive ethnography, a systematic observation of a group play session and a follow-up case study of an experience of adopting a Pleo. Our results show that the key mechanism driving bond forming is the robot’s capability to deploy credible attachment behaviors –proximity seeking and resource soliciting- that elicit complementary nurturing and play behaviors in children. Beyond the novelty effect, self-reinforcing processes as learning and evolution can keep children engaged in rewarding interaction with the robot over time. Moreover, Pleo’s versatility allows diverse modalities of interaction and individual and group play, satisfying different needs as company, technological curiosity, entertainment and social facilitation both for normatively developed children and for children with special needs and their families. In general, the introduction of robot-based play was regarded by the hospital professionals not only as compatible with their daily day practice but valuable as a regular resource to smooth children’s stay at the hospital.[cat] Aquesta tesi aborda el sorgiment de la implicació emocional en la interacció amb els robots socials. Més específicament, s'investiga la dinàmica de la afiliació dels nens amb les mascotes robòtiques – robots que evoquen els animals de companyia- per tal de dissenyar programes basats en robots per millorar l'experiència dels pacients en els hospitals pediàtrics. Considerem que investigar la dimensió emocional de la interacció nen/robots-mascota contribuirà a avaluar-ne el seu impacte en la vida del nens i nenes, i a informar el disseny d’aquests robots i de les aplicacions que se’n deriven per a la seva salut i benestar. A partir d’un model evolutiu original de vinculació nen-robot inspirat en la afiliació d'humans i animals - i més concretament, en la relació nen-gos- s’analitza el comportament de nens interactuant amb el robot Pleo –robot mascota en forma de nadó dinosaure-, amb un èmfasi en les seqüències d'intercanvi recíproc de la diada. Els resultats són de dos tipus: els etogrames del Pleo i dels nens, i una categorització conductual a més alt nivell, aplicables a altres plataformes i usuaris. A partir d’aquest estudi, s’analitza una experiència d’intervenció en un hospital pediàtric per observar les pràctiques interactives amb el robot Pleo, i per avaluar la viabilitat i l'eficàcia d'una intervenció basada en el Pleo per acompanyar els nens. Inspirat en els efectes beneficiosos de la companyia de mascotes reals, l'estudi va consistir en una etnografia, una anàlisi observacional d'una sessió de joc en grup amb el robot, i un estudi de cas longitudinal d'una experiència d’adopció d’un Pleo. Els resultats mostren que l’aspecte clau que impulsa la formació del vincle és la capacitat del robot per desplegar conductes d’aferrament creïbles –cerca de proximitat i sol·licitud de recursos- que provoquen comportaments complementaris de criança i joc en els nens, més enllà de l'efecte novetat. D'altra banda, la versatilitat de Pleo permet diverses modalitats d'interacció i joc, i satisfer diferents necessitats dels usuaris, com ara companyia, curiositat, entreteniment i facilitació social, també per nens i nenes amb necessitats especials i les seves famílies. En general, la introducció del joc basat en el robot va ser considerada pels professionals de l'hospital no només compatible amb la seva pràctica professional, sinó també com un recurs valuós per alleugerir l'estada dels nens a l'hospital

A social robot connected with chatGPT to improve cognitive functioning in ASD subjects

Neurodevelopmental Disorders (NDDs) represent a significant healthcare and economic burden for families and society. Technology, including AI and digital technologies, offers potential solutions for the assessment, monitoring, and treatment of NDDs. However, further research is needed to determine the effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of these technologies in NDDs, and to address the challenges associated with their implementation. In this work, we present the application of social robotics using a Pepper robot connected to the OpenAI system (Chat-GPT) for real-time dialogue initiation with the robot. After describing the general architecture of the system, we present two possible simulated interaction scenarios of a subject with Autism Spectrum Disorder in two different situations. Limitations and future implementations are also provided to provide an overview of the potential developments of interconnected systems that could greatly contribute to technological advancements for Neurodevelopmental Disorders (NDD)

Process, perspectives, and benefits of animal assisted therapy

The purpose of this study was to understand mental health/human services professionals\u27 processes, perspectives, and beliefs about animal assisted therapy. There has been an increase in the use of animals in therapy over the last 40 years. Animals are being used to help clients with a variety of mental and physical problems. In 2007, Division 17 of the American Psychological Association established Section 13, Animal-Human Interaction: Research and Practice, to educate professionals and scholars on understanding animal-human interaction in relation to counseling psychology. Six licensed master\u27s and doctoral level professionals were selected based on their current use of animals in a therapeutic setting. In this qualitative study, in depth semi-structured interviews were conducted to identify the perspectives, values, and beliefs of participants who believe that utilizing animals in therapy provides value to their clients. Each participant completed two phone interviews which were transcribed and reviewed. The interviews were then analyzed, both within-case and cross-case. The within-case analysis revealed each participant\u27s history with animals, their values and beliefs about the benefits that animals provide, as well as their individual perspectives and paths on integrating animals into their therapeutic environment. The cross-case analysis was conducted by an analysis of the themes that were initially generated after review of the interviews. The cross-case analysis yielded five themes that were consistent among at least four or more of the participants. The themes that emerged were animal characteristics, use of metaphors/learning tools, written documentation, therapeutic factors in AAT, and benefits for clients. The participants believed that the animals should be well trained and interact positively with the clients. The participants utilized the animals in a number of different capacities, but many of them used the animals as a metaphor or learning tool to help the client gain greater insight and understanding into their problems. The participants documented the use of the animal in sessions in their clinical notes; the degree to which they documented depended on the intervention the animal was used for. The participants described several key therapeutic factors that the animals provided that helped make the invention successful, such as the animals\u27 ability to decrease the client\u27s anxiety level, and provide the client with unconditional acceptance. Finally, the participants described numerous examples of how and why they felt the animals helped the therapeutic relationship, and assisted the clients in achieving their treatment plan goals. Further research is necessary to continue to gain a better understanding of professionals\u27 process on integrating animals into the therapeutic environment. There needs to be a standardized system for education, training, and certification for professionals on the integration and use of animals in a therapeutic environment. Finally, more research is needed on how to document the use and effectiveness of an animal intervention

The Second International Conference on Health Information Technology Advancement

TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Message from the Conference Co-Chairs B. Han and S. Falan …………………………....….……………. 5 II. Message from the Transactions Editor H. Lee …...………..………….......………….……….………….... 7 III. Referred Papers A. Emerging Health Information Technology and Applications The Role of Mobile Technology in Enhancing the Use of Personal Health Records Mohamed Abouzahra and Joseph Tan………………….……………. 9 Mobile Health Information Technology and Patient Care: Methods, Themes, and Research Gaps Bahae Samhan, Majid Dadgar, and K. D. Joshi…………..…. 18 A Balanced Perspective to Perioperative Process Management Jim Ryan, Barbara Doster, Sandra Daily, and Carmen Lewis…..….…………… 30 The Impact of Big Data on the Healthcare Information Systems Kuo Lane Chen and Huei Lee………….…………… 43 B. Health Care Communication, Literacy, and Patient Care Quality Digital Illness Narratives: A New Form of Health Communication Jofen Han and Jo Wiley…..….……..…. 47 Relationships, Caring, and Near Misses: Michael’s Story Sharie Falan and Bernard Han……………….…..…. 53 What is Your Informatics Skills Level? -- The Reliability of an Informatics Competency Measurement Tool Xiaomeng Sun and Sharie Falan.….….….….….….…. 61 C. Health Information Standardization and Interoperability Standardization Needs for Effective Interoperability Marilyn Skrocki…………………….…….………….… 76 Data Interoperability and Information Security in Healthcare Reid Berryman, Nathan Yost, Nicholas Dunn, and Christopher Edwards.…. 84 Michigan Health Information Network (MiHIN) Shared Services vs. the HIE Shared Services in Other States Devon O’Toole, Sean O’Toole, and Logan Steely…..……….…… 94 D. Health information Security and Regulation A Threat Table Based Approach to Telemedicine Security John C. Pendergrass, Karen Heart, C. Ranganathan, and V.N. Venkatakrishnan …. 104 Managing Government Regulatory Requirements for Security and Privacy Using Existing Standard Models Gregory Schymik and Dan Shoemaker…….…….….….… 112 Challenges of Mobile Healthcare Application Security Alan Rea………………………….……………. 118 E. Healthcare Management and Administration Analytical Methods for Planning and Scheduling Daily Work in Inpatient Care Settings: Opportunities for Research and Practice Laila Cure….….……………..….….….….… 121 Predictive Modeling in Post-reform Marketplace Wu-Chyuan Gau, Andrew France, Maria E. Moutinho, Carl D. Smith, and Morgan C. Wang…………...…. 131 A Study on Generic Prescription Substitution Policy as a Cost Containment Approach for Michigan’s Medicaid System Khandaker Nayeemul Islam…….…...……...………………….… 140 F. Health Information Technology Quality Assessment and Medical Service Delivery Theoretical, Methodological and Practical Challenges in Designing Formative Evaluations of Personal eHealth Tools Michael S. Dohan and Joseph Tan……………….……. 150 The Principles of Good Health Care in the U.S. in the 2010s Andrew Targowski…………………….……. 161 Health Information Technology in American Medicine: A Historical Perspective Kenneth A. Fisher………………….……. 171 G. Health Information Technology and Medical Practice Monitoring and Assisting Maternity-Infant Care in Rural Areas (MAMICare) Juan C. Lavariega, Gustavo Córdova, Lorena G Gómez, Alfonso Avila….… 175 An Empirical Study of Home Healthcare Robots Adoption Using the UTUAT Model Ahmad Alaiad, Lina Zhou, and Gunes Koru.…………………….….………. 185 HDQM2: Healthcare Data Quality Maturity Model Javier Mauricio Pinto-Valverde, Miguel Ángel Pérez-Guardado, Lorena Gomez-Martinez, Martha Corrales-Estrada, and Juan Carlos Lavariega-Jarquín.… 199 IV. A List of Reviewers …………………………..…….………………………208 V. WMU – IT Forum 2014 Call for Papers …..…….…………………20

Actitudes y expectativas hacia las Intervenciones Asistidas por Animales: impacto esperado sobre la mejora de la calidad de vida.

Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias SocialesLínea de Investigación: Educación: Escuela, Familia, Cohesión y Crecimiento SocialClave Programa: DSOCódigo Línea: 58Las intervenciones asistidas por animales (IAA) tienen una amplia trayectoria en países Occidentales tales como EEUU, Inglaterra o Alemania, donde representan un objeto de estudio que suscita creciente interés científico. No obstante, en España se vienen implementando programas de IAA de modo más reciente y las publicaciones científico-técnicas disponibles son escasas y poco sistemáticas. A pesar de carecer de un marco teórico y metodológico unificado, las IAA suponen una herramienta complementaria con mucho potencial en diversos contextos de intervención por parte de diferentes disciplinas pertenecientes al ámbito social, sanitario y/o educativo (ej. Trabajo Social, Psicología, Fisioterapia, Magisterio, etc.) La presente tesis doctoral propone tres objetivos generales: en primer lugar, evalúa expectativas y actitudes hacia las IAA en distintos colectivos (estudiantes universitarios y profesionales de centros residenciales gerontológicos), así como el efecto que diversas variables biográficas y formativas ejercen sobre ellas. En segundo lugar, se analiza la intención de uso, así como la influencia de dichas variables biográficas y formativas. Y en un tercer momento, esta información es triangulada con la percepción que diversos profesionales de las IAA tienen acerca de los efectos de estas intervenciones sobre la calidad de vida. Las muestras estuvieron conformadas por 474 estudiantes universitarios provenientes de Sevilla y Huelva (España), 207 profesionales de residencias gerontológicas de la provincia de Sevilla, y 30 profesionales de las IAA de toda la geografía española. La participación tuvo carácter voluntario e incluyó a adultos de ambos sexos. La recogida de datos incluyó herramientas cuantitativas desarrolladas y validadas durante la presente investigación, destinadas a la evaluación del impacto esperado de las IAA sobre la calidad de vida (Mejora de la Calidad de Vida-MCV) y a las actitudes hacia las intervenciones asistidas por perros (Cuestionario de Actitudes hacia las Intervenciones Asistidas por Perros-CAINTAP), que fueron contestadas por estudiantes y profesionales de centros gerontológicos, así como instrumentos cualitativos (entrevistas abiertas) dirigidas a profesionales de las IAA. Los resultados obtenidos permitieron corroborar la existencia de altas expectativas y actitudes positivas en todas las medidas utilizadas (MCV y CAINTAP), así como una alta intención de uso (superior al 80%) hacia las IAA, tanto entre estudiantes universitarios como entre profesionales de centros gerontológicos. También se corroboró que el mejor predictor de expectativas, actitudes e intención de uso fue haber tenido mascotas, seguido de haber recibido información en medios generalistas, sin que existan indicios del impacto de la formación y experiencia directa con IAA. Con respecto a la triangulación de datos entre actores, se corroboró que los profesionales de las IAA perciben como principales áreas de interés dos dimensiones de calidad de vida (salud y bienestar, e interacción social), si bien los potenciales usuarios (estudiantes y profesionales de centros gerontológicos) presentaron expectativas similares para las cuatro dimensiones del MCV (incluyendo clima de centro y autonomía y autodeterminación). La presente investigación representa una primera aproximación a las percepciones e intención de uso entre profesionales (actuales o en formación) desarrollada en España y en países hispanohablantes. Las conclusiones alcanzadas ofrecen una evaluación de los aspectos positivos y negativos percibidos por los potenciales usuarios de las IAA, además de poner de relieve la existencia de áreas de intervención desatendidas por parte de los profesionales de las IAA, permitiendo su transferencia directa al ámbito aplicado y a la formación de profesionales en el ámbito de las IAA. Adicionalmente, la presente tesis sirve como punto de inicio para el desarrollo de investigaciones en torno al vínculo humano-animal en poblaciones hispanohablantes, desde ámbitos como la Antrozoología hasta las aplicaciones de las IAA en colectivos concretos, existiendo transmisión de la línea en ámbitos tanto nacionales como internacionales.Universidad Pablo de Olavide de Sevilla. Departamento de Trabajo Social y Servicios SocialesPostprin

Conversations on Empathy

In the aftermath of a global pandemic, amidst new and ongoing wars, genocide, inequality, and staggering ecological collapse, some in the public and political arena have argued that we are in desperate need of greater empathy — be this with our neighbours, refugees, war victims, the vulnerable or disappearing animal and plant species. This interdisciplinary volume asks the crucial questions: How does a better understanding of empathy contribute, if at all, to our understanding of others? How is it implicated in the ways we perceive, understand and constitute others as subjects? Conversations on Empathy examines how empathy might be enacted and experienced either as a way to highlight forms of otherness or, instead, to overcome what might otherwise appear to be irreducible differences. It explores the ways in which empathy enables us to understand, imagine and create sameness and otherness in our everyday intersubjective encounters focusing on a varied range of "radical others" – others who are perceived as being dramatically different from oneself. With a focus on the importance of empathy to understand difference, the book contends that the role of empathy is critical, now more than ever, for thinking about local and global challenges of interconnectedness, care and justice

Conversations on Empathy

In the aftermath of a global pandemic, amidst new and ongoing wars, genocide, inequality, and staggering ecological collapse, some in the public and political arena have argued that we are in desperate need of greater empathy — be this with our neighbours, refugees, war victims, the vulnerable or disappearing animal and plant species. This interdisciplinary volume asks the crucial questions: How does a better understanding of empathy contribute, if at all, to our understanding of others? How is it implicated in the ways we perceive, understand and constitute others as subjects? Conversations on Empathy examines how empathy might be enacted and experienced either as a way to highlight forms of otherness or, instead, to overcome what might otherwise appear to be irreducible differences. It explores the ways in which empathy enables us to understand, imagine and create sameness and otherness in our everyday intersubjective encounters focusing on a varied range of "radical others" – others who are perceived as being dramatically different from oneself. With a focus on the importance of empathy to understand difference, the book contends that the role of empathy is critical, now more than ever, for thinking about local and global challenges of interconnectedness, care and justice

Tangible fidgeting interfaces for mental wellbeing recognition using deep learning applied to physiological sensor data

The momentary assessment of an individual's affective state is critical to the monitoring of mental wellbeing and the ability to instantly apply interventions. This thesis introduces the concept of tangible fidgeting interfaces for affective recognition from design and development through to evaluation. Tangible interfaces expand upon the affordance of familiar physical objects as the ability to touch and fidget may help to tap into individuals' psychological need to feel occupied and engaged. Embedding digital technologies within interfaces capitalises on motor and perceptual capabilities and allows for the direct manipulation of data, offering people the potential for new modes of interaction when experiencing mental wellbeing challenges. Tangible interfaces present an ideal opportunity to digitally enable physical fidgeting interactions along with physiological sensor monitoring to unobtrusively and comfortable measure non-visable changes in affective state. This opportunity initiated the investigation of factors that would bring about the designing of more effective intelligent solutions using participatory design techniques to engage people in designing solutions relevant to themselves. Adopting an artificial intelligence approach using physiological signals creates the possibility to quantify affect with high levels of accuracy. However, labelling is an indispensable stage of data pre-processing that is required before classification and can be extremely challenging with multi-model sensor data. New techniques are introduced for labelling at the point of collection coupled with a pilot study and a systematic performance comparison of five custom built labelling interfaces. When classifying labelled physiological sensor data, individual differences between people limit the generalisability of models. To address this challenge, a transfer learning approach has been developed that personalises affective models using few labelled samples. This approach to personalise models and improve cross-domain performance is completed on-device, automating the traditionally manual process, saving time and labour. Furthermore, monitoring trajectories over long periods of time inherits some critical limitations in relation to the size of the training dataset. This shortcoming may hinder the development of reliable and accurate machine learning models. A second framework has been developed to overcome the limitation of small training datasets using an image-encoding transfer learning approach. This research offers the first attempt at the development of tangible interfaces using artificial intelligence towards building a real-world continuous affect recognition system in addition to offering real-time feedback to perform as interventions. This exploration of affective interfaces has many potential applications to help improve quality of life for the wider population