dc.contributor.advisor |
Broadbent, E |
en |
dc.contributor.author |
Liang, Chih-Hsin |
en |
dc.date.accessioned |
2016-04-11T23:44:47Z |
en |
dc.date.issued |
2015 |
en |
dc.identifier.citation |
2015 |
en |
dc.identifier.uri |
http://hdl.handle.net/2292/28575 |
en |
dc.description |
Full text is available to authenticated members of The University of Auckland only. |
en |
dc.description.abstract |
The number of people living with dementia is increasing due to the ageing population. The lack of a curative treatment and the range of problematic symptoms associated with dementia means that caregiver burden is commonly experienced. Prior research indicates that the companion robot Paro can elicit a range of benefits for individuals with dementia in nursing homes. However, these studies have methodological limitations and none have systematically examined the effects of Paro on caregiver stress or in a community context. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Paro for care recipients with dementia and their caregivers in a home and day care centre setting. A 12 week randomised controlled trial was conducted in 28 caregiving dyads. Dyads in the intervention group interacted with Paro at the day care centre and also received Paro at home for 6 weeks. Meanwhile, dyads in the control group received standard care. Care recipients’ cognitive, behavioural, neuropsychiatric, depressive symptoms and dementia-related medication usage were measured at baseline, 6 weeks and 12 weeks follow-up. In addition, physiological measures of stress and observations of the care recipients’ behaviour, mood and social interactions were obtained at the day care centre. Caregiver outcomes of burden, stress and quality of life were measured across the three time points. Caregivers in the intervention group also provided qualitative feedback regarding their experiences with Paro. The results show that Paro had limited effects in improving care recipient symptoms and caregiver well-being when compared to the control group. However, observations at day care indicated that Paro significantly improved positive facial expressions and communication with staff. Additional subgroup analyses indicated that care recipients with greater cognitive abilities responded significantly more positively to Paro. The caregivers’ qualitative feedback reflected the mixed findings and provided insight into the variable responses shown towards Paro. Overall, this study suggests that although Paro has limited benefits for the problematic symptoms of dementia and caregiving burden, it shows promise in enhancing the affective and social outcomes for certain individuals with dementia in a community context. This highlights the need for future randomised controlled trials in larger groups, with longer timeframes, to specify the contexts and characteristics for which Paro is most beneficial. |
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dc.publisher |
ResearchSpace@Auckland |
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dc.relation.ispartof |
Masters Thesis - University of Auckland |
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dc.relation.isreferencedby |
UoA99264841312002091 |
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dc.rights |
Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. Previously published items are made available in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. |
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dc.rights |
Restricted Item. Available to authenticated members of The University of Auckland. |
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dc.rights.uri |
https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm |
en |
dc.rights.uri |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/nz/ |
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dc.title |
The effects of a companion robot for people with dementia and their caregivers |
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dc.type |
Thesis |
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thesis.degree.discipline |
Health Psychology |
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thesis.degree.grantor |
The University of Auckland |
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thesis.degree.level |
Masters |
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dc.rights.holder |
Copyright: The Author |
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pubs.elements-id |
526041 |
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pubs.record-created-at-source-date |
2016-04-12 |
en |
dc.identifier.wikidata |
Q112909643 |
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