The SARS-CoV-2 tendency to affect the older individuals more severely, raises the need for a concise summary isolating this age population. Analysis of clinical features in light of most recently published data allows for improved understanding, and better clinical judgement. A thorough search was performed to collect all articles published from 1st of January to 1st of June 2020, using the keywords COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 followed by the generic terms elderly, older adults or older individuals. The quality assessment of studies and findings was performed by an adaptation of the STROBE statement and CERQual approach. Excluding duplicates, a total of 1598 articles were screened, of which 20 studies were included in the final analysis, pertaining to 4965 older COVID-19 patients (≥60 years old). Variety in symptoms was observed, with fever, cough, dyspnea, fatigue, or sputum production being the most common. Prominent changes in laboratory findings consistently indicated lymphopenia and inflammation and in some cases organ damage. Radiological examination reveals ground glass opacities with occasional consolidations, bilaterally, with a possible peripheral tendency. An evident fraction of the elderly population (25.7%) developed renal injury or impairment as a complication. Roughly 71.4% of the older adults require supplementary oxygen, while invasive mechanical ventilation was required in almost a third of the reported hospitalized older individuals. In this review, death occurred in 20.0% of total patients with a recorded outcome (907/4531). Variability in confidence of findings is documented. Variety in symptom presentation is to be expected, and abnormalities in laboratory findings are present. Risk for mortality is evident, and attention to the need for supplementary oxygen and possible mechanical ventilation is advised. Further data is required isolating this age population. Presented literature may allow for the construction of better predictive models of COVID-19 in older populations.

Background: Efficient use of humanoid social robots in the care for older adults requires precise knowledge of expectations in this area. There is little research in this field that includes the interaction of stakeholders with the robot. Even fewer studies have compared the perceptions of older people (as care recipients) and professional caregivers (representing those taking care of older adults in teams with robots). Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze whether specific aspects of the perceptions about humanoid robots influence attitudes after interacting with the robot and to compare the opinions of different stakeholders (older people and their professional caregivers) on this topic. We analyzed the potential impact of the differences in perception of the robot between stakeholder groups with respect to how the robot should be designed and tailored to fit the specific needs of future users. We also attempted to define areas where targeted educational activities could bring the attitudes of the two groups of stakeholders closer to each other. Methods: The studied group was a conveniently available sample of individuals who took part in the presentation of and interaction with a humanoid social robot. Among them, there were 48 community-dwelling older adults (aged ≥60 years), who were participants of day care units (which may signal the presence of self-care needs), and 53 professional caregivers. The participants were asked to express their views after an interaction with a humanoid social robot (TIAGo) using the Users’ Needs, Requirements and Abilities Questionnaire (UNRAQ) and the Godspeed Questionnaire Series (GQS). Results: Compared to the caregivers, older adults not only assessed the robot more positively with respect to its roles as a companion and assistant (P=.009 and P=.003, respectively) but also had higher scores on their need to increase their knowledge about the robot (P=.049). Regarding the robot’s functions, the greatest differences between groups were observed for the social aspects on the UNRAQ, including decreasing the sense of loneliness (P=.003) and accompanying the user in everyday activities (P=.005). As for the GQS, the mean scores of the Animacy, Likeability, and Perceived Intelligence scales were significantly higher for older participants than for caregivers (P=.04, P<.001, and P<.001, respectively). The only parameter for which the caregivers’ scores were higher than those of the older adults was the Artificial-Lifelike item from the Anthropomorphism scale of the GQS (P=.03). Conclusions: The acceptance of the social functions of a humanoid robot is related to its perception in all analyzed aspects, whereas the expected usefulness of a care robot is not linked to aspects of anthropomorphism. Successful implementation of robots in the care for older people thus depends on considering not only the fears, needs, and requirements of various stakeholders but also on the perceptions of the robot. Given the differences between the stakeholders, targeted and properly structured educational and training activities for caregivers and prospective users may enable a seamless integration of robotic technologies in care provision.

The rapid development of new technologies has caused interest in the use of socially assistive robots in the care of older people. These devices can be used not only to monitor states of health and assist in everyday activities but also to counteract the deterioration of cognitive functioning. The aim of the study was to investigate the attitudes and preferences of Polish respondents towards interventions aimed at the preservation/improvement of cognitive functions delivered by a socially assistive robot. A total of 166 individuals entered the study. Respondents completed the User’s Needs, Requirements and Attitudes Questionnaire; items connected to cognitive and physical activity and social interventions were analyzed. Perceptions and attitudes were compared by gender and age groups (older adults ≥ 60 years old and younger adults 20–59). Women showed a more positive attitude towards robots than men and had a significantly higher perception of the role of the robots in reminding about medications (p = 0.033) as well as meal times and drinks (p = 0.018). There were no significant differences between age groups. Respondents highly valued both the traditional role of the robot—a reminding function—as well as the cognitive interventions and guided physical exercises provided by it. Our findings point to the acceptance of the use of socially assistive robots in the prevention of cognitive deterioration in older people.

(1) Background: while there exist validated measures to assess the needs of older people, there are comparatively few validated tools to assess needs and requirements for the use of robots. Henceforth, the aim of the study is to present and validate such a tool. (2) Methods: The study group included 720 subjects (mean age 52.0 ± 37.0, 541 females) who agreed to fill the Users’ Needs, Requirements, and Abilities Questionnaire (UNRAQ). The validation part of the study included 125 persons. (3) Results: the acceptance of the robot was good in the whole group. The social functions were rated worse than assistive ones. A correlation was found between the scores of social and assistive functions. The respondents claimed that older adults were not prepared to interact with the robot and not very good at handling it, and were sceptical about their willingness to learn to operate the robot. The Cronbach alpha value for the whole questionnaire was 0.95 suggesting excellent internal consistency, and the ICC value of 0.88 represents excellent agreement; (4) Conclusions: We observed a good overall acceptance of the robot across the studied group. There is considerable demand for the use of a social robot in care for older people.

The older population is one of the most vulnerable to experience adverse outcomes of COVID-19. Exploring different clinical features that may act as detrimental to this population’s survival is pivotal for recognizing the highest risk individuals for poor outcome. We thus aimed to characterize the clinical differences between 60-day survivors and non-survivors, as well as analyze variables influencing survival in the first older adults hospitalized in Poznan, Poland, with COVID-19. Symptoms, comorbidities, complications, laboratory results, and functional capacity regarding the first 50 older patients (≥60 years) hospitalized due to COVID-19 were retrospectively studied. Functional status before admission (dependent/independent) was determined based on medical history. The 60-day survivors (n = 30/50) and non-survivors (n = 20/50) were compared across clinical parameters. The patients had a mean age of 74.8 ± 9.4 years. Overall, 20/50 patients died during hospitalization, with no further fatal outcomes reported during the 60-day period. The non-survivors were on average older (78.3 ± 9.7 years), more commonly experienced concurrent heart disease (75%), and displayed functional dependence (65%) (p < 0.05). When assessing the variables influencing survival (age, heart disease, and functional dependence), using a multivariate proportional hazards regression, functional dependence (requiring assistance in core activities of daily living) was the main factor affecting 60-day survival (HR, 3.34; 95% CI: 1.29–8.63; p = 0.01). In our study, functional dependence was the most important prognostic factor associated with mortality. Elderly with COVID-19 who required assistance in core activities of daily living prior to hospitalization had a three times increased risk to experience mortality, as compared to those with complete independence. Exploring geriatric approaches, such as assessment of functional capacity, may assist in constructing comprehensive survival prognosis in the elderly COVID-19 population.

Stygmatyzacja chorych psychicznie nazywana jest pierwszą barierą w ich leczeniu i powrocie do zdrowia: prowadzi do odrzucenia tej jednostki, jej dyskryminacji i wyłączenia z funkcjonowania w różnych dziedzinach życia społecznego. Nabiera to szczególnego znaczenia, jeśli chorzy stykają się z taką postawą wśród lekarzy, pielęgniarek i innych pracowników ochrony zdrowia. W literaturze opisywane są stygmatyzujące postawy wobec chorych psychicznie, i okazuje się, że stygmatyzacja i negatywne nastawienie obecne jest już wśród studentów kierunków medycznych, mimo, że w trakcie studiów uzyskują oni informacje na temat zaburzeń psychicznych i ich leczenia. Postawa stygmatyzująca zaburzenia psychiczne wśród studentów medycyny, może wiązać się z ich podobnymi poglądami potem jako lekarzy, a tym samym wpływać niekorzystnie na jakość opieki nad chorymi oraz wiązać się z wystąpieniem również autostygmatyzacji i jej konsekwencji. Przedstawiono przegląd literatury na temat stygmatyzacji chorych psychicznie przez studentów medycyny oraz przegląd dotychczas proponowanych różnorodnych interwencji w celu redukcji postaw stygmatyzujących oraz omówiono ich skuteczność.