Effects of a Salutogenic Strength-based Social Robot-assisted Intervention on the Depressive Symptoms and Sense of Coherence of Family Caregivers of Persons With Dementia

Plain-language summary

Family caregivers of persons with dementia (PwD) are well known to be "invisible patients." Existing studies have suggested that sense of coherence (SOC), a core inner strength, could be a protective factor against depression among family caregivers of PwD. However, few interventions are available to enhance the SOC and thereby the emotional and psychological health of this population. While in-home social robots are viewed as a useful addition to caring for PwD, the use of social robots with family caregivers as the primary audience are vastly under-investigated. In response, the investigators have developed a strength-based, robot-assisted intervention based on Antonovsky's theory of saluotogenesis for family caregivers of PwD. The feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of the robot on family caregivers of PwD have been confirmed, with recommendations for examining its applicability among this population in a full trial. This study aims to examine the effects of a salutogenic strength-based, robot-assisted intervention on improving depressive symptoms in family caregivers of PwD. This is a mixed-methods study, including a prospective, single-blinded, two-arm parallel randomized controlled trial and semi-structured individual interviews. A group of 148 family caregivers of PwD will be randomized to the intervention group (IG) or the control group (CG), who will receive reading materials on dementia care weekly. Each IG participant will engage with a robot integrated with an AI-powered chatbot at home for 6 weeks. Individual interviews will be conducted at week-6. Purposive sampling will be used to ensure diversity among the participants. Descriptive statistics, t-test and/or Chi square test, generalized estimating equation (GEE), linear regression and thematic analysis will be used. Primary hypothesis: Participants in the intervention group (IG) will report a greater improvement in depressive symptoms than the control group (CG) immediately postintervention at 6 weeks (T1), 1-month (T2) and 3-month (T3) after completing the intervention. Secondary hypothesis: 1) Participants in the IG will report a greater improvement in SOC, perceived caregiving burden, coping, and caregiving self-efficacy than the CG at T1, T2, and T3; 2) The frequency of engaging with specific robot features is associated with improved depressive symptoms, SOC, caregiving burden, coping, and caregiving self-efficacy. The findings may: 1) advance the understanding of the application of the salutogenesis theory to robotic technology, 2) boost the inner strength of family caregivers to maintain their emotional and psychological health in stressful situations, and provide a new paradigm to strengthen the informal care system.

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