Trial reportJournal of medical Internet research2018
Using Robots at Home to Support Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.
Trial report in Journal of medical Internet research, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 56 papers, 17 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
56 citing papers in PubMed, 17 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 126 citations in OpenAlex.
- COPD-patients' perspective on adherence to therapy and its integration into a systematic literature review.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2026Pooled it
- A scoping review of "nursing-technology collaboration" in home-based rehabilitation for the elderly under the long-term care insurance system.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Embodied robots in rehabilitation-oriented interventions for older adults with disability or cognitive impairment: a scoping review.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of Remote Patient Monitoring on Health Care Utilization in Patients With Noncommunicable Diseases: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2025Pooled it
- Electronic Health Record Interventions to Reduce Risk of Hospital Readmissions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JAMA network open · 2025Pooled it
- Support and Its Effect for Persons Affected by COPD and Their Next of Kin - an Systematic Integrative Review.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2025Pooled it
- Digital remote maintenance inhaler adherence interventions in COPD: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2024Pooled it
- Adherence-enhancing interventions for pharmacological and oxygen therapy in patients with COPD: a systematic review and component network meta-analyses.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2024Pooled it
- The effect of telemedicine employing telemonitoring instruments on readmissions of patients with heart failure and/or COPD: a systematic review.Frontiers in digital health · 2024Pooled it
- Increasing efficiency and well-being? a systematic review of the empirical claims of the double-benefit argument in socially assistive devices.BMC medical ethics · 2023Pooled it
- [Interventions to reduce hospital readmission rates in patients with COPD: a systematic review].Medizinische Klinik, Intensivmedizin und Notfallmedizin · 2023Pooled it
- Enhancing potential impact of hospital discharge interventions for patients with COPD: a qualitative systematic review.BMC health services research · 2023Pooled it
- Effectiveness of eHealth Interventions in Improving Medication Adherence for Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or Asthma: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Pooled it
- Telerehabilitation for chronic respiratory disease.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Coaching Through Technology: A Systematic Review into Efficacy and Effectiveness for the Ageing Population.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Pooled it
- Interventions for improving medication-taking ability and adherence in older adults prescribed multiple medications.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Psychosocial Health Interventions by Social Robots: Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of medical Internet research · 2019Pooled it
- A robot goes to rehab: a novel gamified system for long-term stroke rehabilitation using a socially assistive robot-methodology and usability testing.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2021Trial
- Quality of Care Perceived by Older Patients and Caregivers in Integrated Care Pathways With Interviewing Assistance From a Social Robot: Noninferiority Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Trial
- Evaluating an Intervention Program Using WeChat for Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Trial
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSocially assistive robots are being developed for patients to help manage chronic health conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Adherence to medication and availability of rehabilitation are suboptimal in this patient group, which increases the risk of hospitalization.
objectiveThis pilot study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a robot delivering telehealth care to increase adherence to medication and home rehabilitation, improve quality of life, and reduce hospital readmission compared with a standard care control group.
methodsAt discharge from hospital for a COPD admission, 60 patients were randomized to receive a robot at home for 4 months or to a control group. Number of hospitalization days for respiratory admissions over the 4-month study period was the primary outcome. Medication adherence, frequency of rehabilitation exercise, and quality of life were also assessed. Implementation interviews as well as benefit-cost analysis were conducted.
resultsIntention-to-treat and per protocol analyses showed no significant differences in the number of respiratory-related hospitalizations between groups. The intervention group was more adherent to their long-acting inhalers (mean number of prescribed puffs taken per day=48.5%) than the control group (mean 29.5%, P=.03, d=0.68) assessed via electronic recording. Self-reported adherence was also higher in the intervention group after controlling for covariates (P=.04). The intervention group increased their rehabilitation exercise frequency compared with the control group (mean difference -4.53, 95% CI -7.16 to -1.92). There were no significant differences in quality of life. Of the 25 patients who had the robot, 19 had favorable attitudes.
conclusionsThis pilot study suggests that a homecare robot can improve adherence to medication and increase exercise. Further research is needed with a larger sample size to further investigate effects on hospitalizations after improvements are made to the robots. The robots could be especially useful for patients struggling with adherence.
trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12615000259549; http://www.anzctr.org.au (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6whIjptLS).
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.