SynthesisFrontiers in robotics and AI2025
Exploring fear in human-robot interaction: a scoping review of older adults' experiences with social robots.
Synthesis in Frontiers in robotics and AI, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Generational Differences in the Acceptance of Care Robots Among Portuguese Adults: Evidence from the Almere Model, ADL and IADL Frameworks.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Transforming dementia caregiver support with AI-powered social robotics.Frontiers in robotics and AI · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: As global populations age, healthcare and social systems face mounting pressure to provide effective support for older adults. Social robots have emerged as promising tools to enhance companionship, cognitive engagement, and daily assistance. However, fear of robots among older adults remains a critical barrier to adoption. Objective: This scoping review examined how fear manifests in human-robot interaction (HRI), what factors contribute to these reactions, and how they influence technology acceptance. Methods: A systematic search of six major databases (PubMed, Scopus, IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, PsycINFO, and Web of Science) identified studies published between January 2014 and March 2025. Following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, 49 studies were included, encompassing 6,670 older participants across 16 countries. Results: Thematic synthesis revealed seven main fear categories: privacy and autonomy concerns, trust and reliability issues, emotional and ethical discomfort, usability challenges, fear of dependence, unfamiliarity with technology, and the Uncanny Valley effect. Fear levels were shaped by robot design, cultural background, prior technology experience, and contextual factors such as care settings. Mitigation strategies, including co-design with older adults, gradual exposure, transparent system behavior, and emotionally congruent interaction, were associated with improved acceptance. Conclusions: This review uniquely maps fear typologies to robot functions and intervention strategies, offering a framework to guide emotionally adaptive and culturally sensitive robot design. Addressing emotional barriers is essential for the ethical and effective integration of social robots into eldercare. Future research should prioritize longitudinal, cross-cultural studies and standardized fear measurement tools to advance evidence-based HRI implementation.
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Registered trials
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