Objectives:To investigate the effect of a social robot intervention on depression, loneliness, and quality of life of older adults in long-term care (LTC) and to explore participants’ experiences and perceptions after the intervention.Design:A mixed-methods approach consisting of a single group, before and after quasi-experimental design, and individual interview.Participants:Twenty older adults with depression from four LTC facilities in Taiwan were recruited.Intervention:Each participant participated in 8 weeks of observation and 8 weeks of intervention. In the observation stage, participants received usual care or activities without any research intervention. In the intervention stage, each participant was given a Paro (Personal Assistive RobOt) to keep for 24 hours, 7 days a week.Measurements:The Geriatric Depression Scale, the UCLA Loneliness Scale Version 3, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire for older adults were administered at four time points. Individual qualitative interviews with thematic analysis followed.Results:A repeated multivariate analysis of variance and Friedmanʼs test showed no significant changes during the observation stage between T1 and T2 for depression and quality of life (p >.5). For the intervention stage, statistically significant changes in decreasing depression and loneliness and improving quality of life over time were identified. Three themes emerged from the interviews: (i) humanizing Paro through referring to personal experiences and engagement; (ii) increased social interaction with other people; and (iii) companionship resulting in improved mental well-being.Conclusions:There were significant improvements in mental well-being in using Paro. Further research may help us to understand the advantages of using a Paro intervention as depression therapy.

This study aimed to examine the effect of 8-weeks of a 60-minute PARO intervention to reduce depressive symptoms and loneliness in older adults with dementia and investigated changes in their emoti...

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) during acute ischemic stroke is associated with a longer hospital length of stay and unfavorable functional outcomes. Objective: We investigated the benefits of portable bladder ultrasound (PBU) scanning during acute ischemic stroke. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients with acute ischemic stroke from January 2011 to February 2017. Patients were divided into group 1 (PBU not available) and group 2 (PBU available), before or after the split date, April 9, 2014. Portable bladder ultrasound scanning was conducted by nurses to measure postvoid residual urine volume in patients with impaired consciousness and/or dependent ambulation. Results: In total, 1928 patients were enrolled, of whom 109 (5.7%) had UTI and 901 (46.7%) experienced unfavorable outcomes (modified Rankin scale score ≥ 3). Multivariate analysis revealed that factors that influenced UTI were age of 75 years or older, female gender, initial total National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score of 5 or higher, initial NIHSS conscious score of 1 or higher, initial NIHSS leg score of 2 or higher, and urinary catheterization. Factors influencing unfavorable outcomes were similar to those influencing UTI but further comprised UTI. C-statistic for UTI detection was 0.864 for model fitting, including significant factors in logistic regression. Compared with group 1, group 2 had a higher incidence of urinary catheterization (13.1% vs 8.2%), a lower incidence of UTI (4.0% vs 6.9%), and a shorter length of stay (11.9 vs 13.6 days). Conclusions: Portable bladder ultrasound scanning reduced the incidence of UTI and shortened length of stay. We suggest routine PBU procedures for patients with acute ischemic stroke who fulfill the AGN3 criteria for a high risk of UTI.