SynthesisJournal of medical Internet research2019
Use of Social Robots in Mental Health and Well-Being Research: Systematic Review.
Synthesis in Journal of medical Internet research, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers, 4 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
48 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Artificial intelligence as a predictive tool for mental health status: Insights from a systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Instruments for Measuring Psychological Dimensions in Human-Robot Interaction: Systematic Review of Psychometric Properties.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Pooled it
- User Experience in Social Robots.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Pooled it
- Social Robot Interventions for People with Dementia: A Systematic Review on Effects and Quality of Reporting.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2021Pooled it
- Soma Design for Digital Mental Health and Well-Being Interventions: Scoping Review.JMIR human factors · 2026Article
- The Use of Social Robots in Primary School to Support Children's Academic and Social Emotional Learning: A Scoping Review.Clinical child and family psychology review · 2026Article
- LLM-powered socially assistive robot-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy exercises: an exploratory study with university students.Frontiers in robotics and AI · 2026Article
- Do We View Robots as We Do Ourselves? Examining Robotic Face Processing Using EEG.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- A randomized pilot study evaluating socially assistive robot effects on patient engagement and care quality.NPJ digital medicine · 2025Article
- Health Care Professionals' Experiences Regarding Facilitators of and Barriers to Sustained Use of Social Robot Ivy for People With Intellectual Disabilities: Qualitative Interview Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- A Robot-Delivered Training Program to Improve Children's Mental Health and Resilience in Dutch Primary Schools: Pilot Intervention Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Exploring the Impact of Socially Assistive Robots in Rehabilitation Scenarios.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- An android can show the facial expressions of complex emotions.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Coping with Emotional Distress via Self-Disclosure to Robots: An Intervention with Caregivers.International journal of social robotics · 2025Article
- Designing for flourishing: a conceptual model for enhancing older adults' well-being with social robots.Frontiers in robotics and AI · 2025Article
- Let's make up a story: design and evaluation of an improvisational storytelling robot to foster older adults' meaning and purpose in life.Frontiers in dementia · 2025Article
- Achieving clinically meaningful outcomes in digital health: a six-step, cyclical precision engagement framework (ENGAGE).Frontiers in digital health · 2025Article
- Evaluating usability and acceptance of a socially assistive robot supported cognitive training for depression - results of the randomized controlled pilot study 'AMIGA'.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Robots as Mental Health Coaches: A Study of Emotional Responses to Technology-Assisted Stress Management Tasks Using Physiological Signals.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- The Role of Coherent Robot Behavior and Embodiment in Emotion Perception and Recognition During Human-Robot Interaction: Experimental Study.JMIR human factors · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTechnology-assisted clinical interventions are increasingly common in the health care field, often with the proposed aim to improve access to and cost-effectiveness of care. Current technology platforms delivering interventions are largely mobile apps and online websites, although efforts have been made to create more personalized and embodied technology experiences. To extend and improve on these platforms, the field of robotics has been increasingly included in conversations of how to deliver technology-assisted, interactive, and responsive mental health and psychological well-being interventions. Socially assistive robots (SARs) are robotic technology platforms with audio, visual, and movement capabilities that are being developed to interact with individuals socially while also assisting them with management of their physical and psychological well-being. However, little is known about the empirical evidence or utility of using SARs in mental health interventions.
objectiveThe review synthesizes and describes the nascent empirical literature of SARs in mental health research and identifies strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement in future research and practice.
methodsSearches in Medline, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, PubMed, and IEEE Xplore yielded 12 studies included in the final review after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. Abstract and full-text reviews were conducted by two authors independently.
resultsThis systematic review of the literature found 5 distinct SARs used in research to investigate the potential for this technology to address mental health and psychological well-being outcomes. Research on mental health applications of SARs focuses largely on elderly dementia patients and relies on usability pilot data with methodological limitations.
conclusionsThe current SARs research in mental health use is limited in generalizability, scope, and measurement of psychological outcomes. Opportunities for expansion of research in this area include diversifying populations studied, SARs used, clinical applications, measures used, and settings for those applications.
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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.