Nurses Open to Idea of Robots
From: SINTEF - 07/30/2009

A study performed by SINTEF for the Norwegian Association of Local Regional
Authorities found that nurses and care-sector employees would welcome sensor
and robot technology to help them in nursing homes and home care for the
elderly. The survey found that cleaning, moving, and lifting patients are
potential applications for care and nursing robots, and that the development
and introduction of new technology should occur in such a way that the level
of support they provide will be maintained or improved. During the survey,
many of the participants were initially skeptical of using robots in elder
care, but over the course of the interviews they started to imagine and
mention scenarios in which robots could be of use. "It is worth noting that
the staff still prefer themselves to perform tasks that currently require
personal contact," says SINTEF Technology and Society project leader Kristine
Holbo. "However, they would like routine tasks such as dealing with dirty
clothes to be handled by a robot." Holbo cautions that the survey only
interviewed elder-care personnel, and not the people the robots and sensors
would be attending to. "We need to be sure that any devices that we introduce
are functional, and have to avoid 'pushing' technology onto the users," she
says. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.sintef.no/Home/Press-Room/Research-News/Nurses-open-to-idea-of-robots-/#

Links:
Kristine Holbo
http://www.sintef.no/Kontakt-oss/Alle-ansatte/?EmpId=964

SINTEF Technology and Society, Preventive Health Care
http://www.sintef.no/Home/Technology-and-Society/Preventive-Health-Care/