This study aims to explore the role of robocare in combating elder abuse and protecting older adults’ rights within LTC environments.
This study explores the role of robocare in addressing abuse through a literature-based analysis grounded in person-centered care (PCC) and examines robocare through four key dimensions: respect for values and preferences, comprehensive care, autonomy and empowerment and transparency and safety.
Findings suggest that robocare has the potential to reduce caregiver workload, enhance autonomy and improve care quality while promoting safety and transparency. However, the absence of clear regulatory frameworks raises ethical and legal concerns. Ensuring care safety requires strong collaboration between caregivers and robots and the active involvement of older adults in the design and development process to help prevent new forms of ageism and ensure that robocare upholds dignity and human rights.
This study has several limitations. First, it relies exclusively on secondary sources, which limits the ability to draw definitive conclusions about the real-world effectiveness of robocare in reducing elder abuse. Empirical studies are needed to validate the theoretical framework proposed. Second, the study does not focus on a specific geographic region, which may limit its applicability to different cultural and legal contexts. Future research should consider regional differences in LTC policies, technological adoption and ethical considerations.
The current research on long-term care (LTC) predominantly focuses on medical, policy, or technical aspects, with limited exploration of integrating technology, particularly robocare, with person-centered care (PCC) core principles to address elder abuse. This study makes a unique contribution by synthesizing existing knowledge through a PCC framework, explicitly linking robocare to core principles and provides a conceptual foundation for future empirical research. Additionally, the study highlights the need to bridge the gap between theory and practice, emphasizing the integration of robocare with human caregiving and involving the older adult in the robocare design to improve the care quality, thus offering new directions for future investigations in the field.
