Informal Caregivers' Attitudes Towards Robots in Hungary and Poland
Author(s)
Marta Pentek, PhD, DSc1, Dominik Golicki, MA, PhD, MD2, Laszlo Gulacsi, MD, PhD, DSc1, Tamás Haidegger, PhD1, Zsombor Zrubka, MBA, PhD, MD1, Levente Kovacs, PhD, DSc1, Petra Baji, PhD3;
1Obuda University, Budapest, Hungary, 2Medical University of Warsaw, Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, Warsaw, Poland, 3University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
1Obuda University, Budapest, Hungary, 2Medical University of Warsaw, Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, Warsaw, Poland, 3University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
Presentation Documents
OBJECTIVES: The informal care provided by family members for their relatives in need due to ageing or a chronic disease may change with the development of social robots. Informal caregivers' robot-related attitudes can be deterministic in their acceptance in healthcare. The aim of our study was to assess informal caregivers' attitudes towards robots in general, using the Negative Attitudes Towards Robotots Scale (NARS) tool.
METHODS: Informal caregivers in Hungary (HU) and Poland (PL) were invited to participate in an online cross-sectional survey. Sociodemographic characteristics of the participants were recorded, and the 14-item NARS self-completed questionnaire was applied.
RESULTS: Informal caregivers' (N=400/country; female: HU=70%, PL=52%; mean age: HU=49, PL=43) average NARS score was 2.83 (SD=0.72) in Hungary and 3.01 (SD=0.59) in Poland. They indicated the 'Undecided' answer most frequently in case of 9 (HU) and 13 (PL) NARS items. Respondents marked 'Strongly agree' response most often for the 'Something bad might happen if robots developed into living beings', 'I would feel uneasy if robots really had emotions.' and 'I feel that if I depend on robots too much, something bad might happen' items in Hungary (20%, 13%, 12%) while these shares were slightly different in Poland (15%, 12%, 11%). The 'Strongly disagree response was indicated by most participants for the 'I would feel very nervous just standing in front of a robot' item in both countries (HU=30%, PL=15%) while reponses differed more on the other items between the two countries. Altogether 27% (HU) and 30% (PL) of the reposndents have already met any robot.
CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed that while negative and positive attitudes towards robots are present in parallel, the great majority is uncertain about their feelings about robots. Educational programmes and trainings with real robots seem necessary to familiarise informal caregivers with robots before their wider introduction in health and social care.
METHODS: Informal caregivers in Hungary (HU) and Poland (PL) were invited to participate in an online cross-sectional survey. Sociodemographic characteristics of the participants were recorded, and the 14-item NARS self-completed questionnaire was applied.
RESULTS: Informal caregivers' (N=400/country; female: HU=70%, PL=52%; mean age: HU=49, PL=43) average NARS score was 2.83 (SD=0.72) in Hungary and 3.01 (SD=0.59) in Poland. They indicated the 'Undecided' answer most frequently in case of 9 (HU) and 13 (PL) NARS items. Respondents marked 'Strongly agree' response most often for the 'Something bad might happen if robots developed into living beings', 'I would feel uneasy if robots really had emotions.' and 'I feel that if I depend on robots too much, something bad might happen' items in Hungary (20%, 13%, 12%) while these shares were slightly different in Poland (15%, 12%, 11%). The 'Strongly disagree response was indicated by most participants for the 'I would feel very nervous just standing in front of a robot' item in both countries (HU=30%, PL=15%) while reponses differed more on the other items between the two countries. Altogether 27% (HU) and 30% (PL) of the reposndents have already met any robot.
CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed that while negative and positive attitudes towards robots are present in parallel, the great majority is uncertain about their feelings about robots. Educational programmes and trainings with real robots seem necessary to familiarise informal caregivers with robots before their wider introduction in health and social care.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2025-05, ISPOR 2025, Montréal, Quebec, CA
Value in Health, Volume 28, Issue S1
Code
PCR32
Topic
Patient-Centered Research
Topic Subcategory
Patient Engagement
Disease
No Additional Disease & Conditions/Specialized Treatment Areas