Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39917415›Full record

ArticleDigital health

Care partner experience with telepresence robots in long-term care during COVID-19 pandemic.

Grace Hu, Joey Wong, Lily Haopu Ren, Sarah Kleiss, Annette Berndt, Lily Wong, Ali Hussein, Nazia Ahmed, Jim Mann, Lillian Hung

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Digital health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. The Impact of Telepresence Robots on Family Caregivers and Residents in Long-Term Care.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Grace HuInnovation in Dementia and Aging Lab, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3364-8976
Joey WongInnovation in Dementia and Aging Lab, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Lily Haopu RenInnovation in Dementia and Aging Lab, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Sarah KleissUniversitätsmedizin Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
Annette BerndtInnovation in Dementia and Aging Lab, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Lily WongInnovation in Dementia and Aging Lab, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Ali HusseinInnovation in Dementia and Aging Lab, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Nazia AhmedInnovation in Dementia and Aging Lab, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Jim MannInnovation in Dementia and Aging Lab, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Lillian HungInnovation in Dementia and Aging Lab, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective: As people living with dementia move into long-term care (LTC), their care partners face a difficult role change from primary caregiver to visitor, losing a significant degree of control and direct care involvement. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these challenges with health risks, changing care home protocols, and government policies. To help address these challenges, this study aimed to investigate the experiences of care partners who used telepresence robots to maintain contact with and care for their loved ones during the pandemic. Methods: This study was guided by the Collaborative Action Research (CAR) approach. Along with interdisciplinary researchers and trainees, our team included patient and family partners as co-researchers throughout the project. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 care partners who used the robots in five urban Canadian LTC homes between May 2021 and August 2023. Results: Thematic analysis identified four key themes characterizing their experiences using the robot: (a) decreases care partner burden, (b) facilitates care partner-staff relationship, (c) creates relational autonomy, and (d) expands the scope of what is possible. Conclusion: The results of the study suggest that telepresence robots can play a useful role in enhancing the caregiving experience for informal care partners in multifaceted ways. Care partners reported positive benefits of having the robot assist their virtual visits. However, further research is needed to determine the sustainability of robot implementation among diverse geographic regions and care home compositions.

Indexed as

assistive technologyCOVID-19Family caregiversnursing homesolder adults

Identifiers

PMID39917415
PMCPMC11800240

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

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.