As the nursing home industry faces high worker turnover and an aging population, many establishments have turned to robots. However, few studies have examined the effects of these technologies on the quality of patient care and employee retention.
Robots in Nursing Homes – Quality of Care
In this latest study, the researchers found that robot use was associated with higher quality of patient care, greater productivity, and increased employee retention.
Yong Suk Lee, Toshiaki Iizuka, and Karen Eggleston wrote about their study and findings in the peer-reviewed academic journal Labour Economics (citation below).
According to Yong Suk Lee, associate professor of technology, economy and global affairs at Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, most studies of robots in the workplace have focused on the industrial and manufacturing sectors.
This new study was the first to look at how long-term care might be affected by different types of robots. They gathered and analyzed data from surveys of Japanese nursing homes taken from 2020 to 2022.
Prof. Lee, who was the study’s lead author, said:
“Our research focused on Japan because it is a super-aging society that provides a good example of what the future could entail elsewhere — a declining population, a growing share of senior citizens and a declining share of working-age people. We need to be ready for this new reality.”
In the US, for example, there were over 57 million US residents aged 65+ years in 2022, according to the National Council on Aging. This figure will probably rise to 88.5 million by 2050, the Census Bureau predicts.
The impact on workers
Prof. Lee believes that both workers and patients will benefit from the targeted use of robots in an aging society, where the percentage of people over 65 is steadily increasing.
In their study, the researchers analyzed three different types of robots that assisted living facilities are increasingly relying on:
This type helps nurses and other healthcare professionals lift, move, and rotate patients in their beds and around rooms.
These help patients move around – they improve people’s mobility. They also help patients bathe.
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Monitoring and Communication Robots
Technologies like cameras and bed sensors are used by these smart machines to track patient movements and provide important updates to caregivers.
Prof. Lee said:
“We found that robot adoption complements care workers by reducing quit rates. This is important because turnover is a big concern in nursing homes. Workers typically experience a great deal of physical pain, particularly in their knees and back.”
“The…