Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41674108›Full record

SynthesisJournal of rehabilitation medicine2026

Robot-assisted therapy following stroke: what effects on quality of life, cognitive and psychosocial outcomes? A systematic review.

Francesco Zanatta, Alessandra Gorini, Luca Fiorentino, Silvia Traversoni, Cira Fundarò, Marco D'Addario, Patrizia Steca

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of rehabilitation medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Trial
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

7 authors.

Francesco ZanattaDepartment of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-6995-4190
Alessandra GoriniDepartment of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Department of Excellence 2023-2027, University of Milan, Milan, Italy; PsyCaRe Lab, Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Milan, Italy. alessandra.gorini@unimi.it.ORCID 0000-0003-3216-1784
Luca FiorentinoDepartment of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Department of Excellence 2023-2027, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
Silvia TraversoniDepartment of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Department of Excellence 2023-2027, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-2908-9566
Cira FundaròNeurophysiopathology Unit, Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, Montescano Institute, Montescano, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-7810-8885
Marco D'AddarioDepartment of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-7659-885X
Patrizia StecaDepartment of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-1373-5802

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveRobot-assisted therapy (RAT) has shown promise in post-stroke motor recovery. However, its effects on non-motor outcomes remain unclear. This systematic review evaluated RAT impact on post-stroke quality of life (QoL), cognition, and psychosocial functioning.

methodsFollowing PRISMA guidelines, electronic searches were performed from Web of Science, PubMed, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Embase, and PsycINFO. Risk of bias was assessed using NIH Quality Assessment Tools. Data on study design, participants, intervention characteristics, outcomes, and results were extracted and synthetized descriptively.

resultsA total of 90 studies met the inclusion criteria. Considerable heterogeneity was found in participants' characteristics, intervention duration (2-52 weeks), and dosage (20-240 min/session). Most studies reported significant RAT effects on QoL (emotional, physical, cognitive, social subdomains), cognition (attention, executive functions, memory, language, visuo-spatial abilities, intelligence), and psychosocial outcomes (anxiety, depression, self-efficacy, fear of falling, motivation, coping). Some studies also showed greater improvements compared with conventional training controls. Longitudinal effects were generally absent, except for QoL variations observed up to 12 months. Cognitive and psychological factors were also identified as moderators/predictors of RAT response.

conclusionDespite variability across studies, findings suggest RAT may have a broad impact beyond motor recovery. Future large-scale, standardized, longitudinal trials are recommended to confirm these results.

Indexed as

CognitionQuality of LifeRoboticsStrokeStroke RehabilitationHumansTreatment Outcome

Identifiers

PMID41674108
PMCPMC12914644

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.