SimpleC Wellness Platform With Social Robot Interaction (Long-term)

Social Assistive Robot Interface for People With Alzheimers and Other Dementias to Aid in Care Management

This study will be conducted to test a Socially-Assistive Robot (SAR) system for residents in an Assisted Living environment. The goal of the SAR system is to enhance social engagement and connectedness. The system engages residents via robot-facilitated activities such as trivia and reminder and is integrated with the SimpleC Wellness Platform.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Quality of Life; Cognitive Impairment; Dementia; Cognitive Change; Mild Cognitive Impairment; Engagement, Patient; Mood; Aging Well
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Behavioral Interventions; Behavioral: Robot Interventions

Detailed Description

This is a mixed-method study to assess the effectiveness of the SAR system. The study includes behavior/lifestyle intervention that are delivered via a robot and/or tablet. The study intervention is a Social Assistive Robot (SAR) System. The SAR system contains the SimpleC Platform, physical robot, virtual agent/robot.

The goal is to engage residents in a natural language conversation as psychosocial support (enhancing mood, mitigating the effects of loneliness, and enhancing social connection and communication) and provide value to the organization and its staff.

Research questions include:

1. Are existing and new residents engaged and satisfied with the Technology Intervention Program?
2. What are the benefits (health, behavioral, economic, and social) of the virtual agent and physical robot?
3. Which users will adopt the SAR system?
4. What are facilitators and barriers to SAR system adoption?
5. Does Technology Acceptance Theory explain adoption over time?
6. Do changing needs affect changing technology attitude?
7. What are guidelines for implementation and design?

Sample: 270 individuals will participate: 90 residents, 90 family, and 90 staff across different study locations. Enrollment will be stopped upon reaching saturation.

1. Participants in both conditions will have access to personal media, reminders, televisit, messaging, news, and wellness programs in their own room via the Companion.
2. Participants in the SAR condition will have access to social and health reminders as well as social and wellness programs facilitated by a virtual robot agent in their own room via the Companion.
3. Participants in the SAR condition will also have access to social and health reminders as well as social and wellness programs facilitated by a physical robot in the community area and a staff member (likely the activity director).

The goal is to offer SAR-facilitated group session at least once per week, for residents to attend at least one such session over the course of the study and two sessions/month.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 63
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Anne Adams, PhD; Phone Number: 770.290.0035; Email: aadams@simplec.com
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Jenay M Beer, PhD; Phone Number: 404.308.4523; Email: jenay.beer@uga.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Georgia
    • Athens, Georgia, United States, 30602
      • University of Georgia
    • Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30060
      • SimpleC

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Resident Inclusion Criteria:

• Aged 50+ years
• Any gender
• Fluent in English
• New or current user of SimpleC
• At risk for MCI; MCI; moderate / cognitive impairment (MMSE score of 13 or higher)

Family Member Inclusion Criteria:

• Aged 18+ years
• Any gender
• Fluent in English
• Family or friend of resident
• New or current user of SimpleC
• No diagnosis of dementia or related disorder

Staff Inclusion Criteria:

• Aged 18+ years
• Any gender
• Fluent in English
• Works for the Senior Housing Community
• New or current user of SimpleC

Resident Exclusion Criteria:

• Comorbidities or psychiatric history that would preclude study participation
• Expecting to move during the study (i.e., move out of facility)
• Both legally deaf and blind
• Not able to press tablet buttons
• Not able to verbally answer questionnaires
• Pregnant

Family Caregiver Exclusion Criteria:

• Comorbidities or psychiatric history that would preclude study participation
• Expecting to move during the study (i.e., move out of facility)
• Both legally deaf and blind
• Not able to press tablet buttons
• Pregnant

Staff Exclusion Criteria:

• Expecting to move during the study (i.e., move out of facility)
• Both legally deaf and blind
• Pregnant

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: SimpleC Wellness Platform with Social Robot Interaction; Participants in the Social Robot condition will have access to personal media, reminders, televisit, messaging, news, and wellness programs in their own room via the Companion. Participants will also will have access to social and health reminders as well as social and wellness programs facilitated by a virtual robot agent in their own room via the Companion, social and health reminders as well as social and wellness programs facilitated by a physical robot in the community area and a staff member (likely the activity director).	Behavioral: Behavioral Interventions; Traditional SimpleC Wellness; Behavioral: Robot Interventions; Robot interventions
Active Comparator: SimpleC Wellness Platform; Participants in the SimpleC Wellness Platform condition will have access to personal media, reminders, televisit, messaging, news, and wellness programs in their own room via the Companion.	Behavioral: Behavioral Interventions; Traditional SimpleC Wellness

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Robotic Social Attributes Scale (RoSAS). An 18-item scale with high scores indicating positive attitudes for dimensions of warmth and competency and a negative attitude for dimension of discomfort.	[Questionnaire] Perception and judgment of Social Assistive Robot social attributes on 3 dimensions: Warmth, competency, and discomfort	Midpoint (3 months), Final (6 months)
Change in Caregiver Guilt Scale. A 4-point scale with higher score indicating higher guilt.	[Questionnaire] Family caregiver feelings of guilt.	Baseline, Midpoint (3 months), Final (6 months)
Change in Perceived Stress Scale. A 5-point scale with higher scores indicating higher stress.	[Questionnaire] Family caregiver experience of stress in the past 4 months. Modification: Answer as it relates to caregiving.	Baseline, Midpoint (3 months), Final (6 months)
Change in Technology Acceptance and Experience Questionnaire. A scale with high scores indicating higher acceptance.	[Questionnaire] Assessment of users' perceived ease of use, usefulness, and satisfaction of using the technology.	Midpoint (3 months), Final (6 months)
Change in Quality of Life. A 13-item survey with high scores indicating higher quality of life.	[Questionnaire] Assessment of different aspects of quality of life, including physical health, energy, family, money.	Baseline, Midpoint (3 months), Final (6 months)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Technology acceptance and adoption Interview.	[Interview] Assessment of users acceptance and adoption ease of use, usefulness, and satisfaction of using the technology.	Midpoint (3 months)
Technology acceptance and adoption Interview.	[Interview] Assessment of users acceptance and adoption ease of use, usefulness, and satisfaction of using the technology.	Final (6 months)
Usability and usefulness	Identified factors that indicate the ease of use and usefulness for different tasks as derived from analysis of: [Interview, usage data]	6 months
Conversation quality	[Interview] User perceptions on the usefulness and ease of use in conversing with the technology.	6 months
Value proposition/Economic Impact	[Interview] Discussions with facility staff and key decision makers to understand the value of the technology in providing social interaction and reminders to their residents.	6 months
Requirements	Identified requirements for design, training, and communication as derived from analysis of: [Interview, observations]	6 months
Affect	[Interview] Feelings of enjoyment, satisfaction, when using the technology	6 months
Participation Pattern	How often system is used, buttons clicked, voice activation [usage data, interview, observations]	6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: SimpleC, LLC
• Collaborators: University of Georgia; Advanced Medical Electronics
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Anne Adams, PhD, SimpleC, LLC; Principal Investigator: Jenay M Beer, PhD, University of Georgia

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 10, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): November 13, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): November 13, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 30, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 25, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): October 31, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 19, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 18, 2024
• Last Verified: March 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: At risk, diagnosis
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Neurocognitive Disorders; Cognition Disorders; Dementia; Cognitive Dysfunction
• Other Study ID Numbers: 7645D

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No