SynthesisFrontiers in psychiatry2025
Social robots in adult psychiatry: a summary of utilisation and impact.
Synthesis in Frontiers in psychiatry, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Perceptions of the Furhat social robot administering a mental health assessment: a pilot mixed-method exploration.Frontiers in robotics and AI · 2025Article
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Social robots are increasingly becoming more prevalent in healthcare, including nursing, geriatric care, and treatment for children on the autism spectrum. Their assistance is believed to hold promise in mitigating the effects of staffing shortages and enhancing current mental health treatment. Nevertheless, the application of social robotics in psychiatry remains restricted and controversial. This scoping review aims to provide an overview of the literature on social robots in adult psychiatry concerning their use, effects, and acceptability. We conducted a literature search, including PubMed and PsycINFO, to identify literature on robot interventions for adult psychiatric patients. Methodological quality was assessed using the 'Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool'. Usage and target variables were unique to every included original study (N = 7) and suggested a wide range of possible implications for patient treatment and care. Social robots were used to reduce symptoms, improve functioning, and gain insights into characteristic features of specific mental health conditions. The included studies were concerned with the following diagnoses: schizophrenia (N = 3), autism spectrum disorder (N = 2), and intellectual disability (N = 2). The sample sizes were too small to generalise the outcome, but overall trends showed some positive effects on the selected symptoms. Observations and participant feedback suggested high acceptance and enjoyment of the users. Although the evidence regarding the benefits of robotic interventions in adult psychiatry is still low, it suffices to assume that investing in larger, randomised, and controlled trials is worthwhile and promising. Systematic review registration: asprediced.org, identifier 128766.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.