Abstract
BACKGROUND: If acceptable to users, technological innovations including robotic assistive devices have the potential to promote patient safety (fall prevention) and enhance nurse’s time management. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) explains how users accept new technology;1 two primary constructs, Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Perceived Ease of Use (EU), predict Behavioral Intentions (BI) and eventual use of technology with Satisfaction (S) added later as an outcome variable.2
Purpose: Guided by TAM, conduct a pilot acceptability trial of a prototype robotic assistive device (ARNA).
METHODS: Using convenience sampling in US urban acute care setting, study participants included patients (n=10) and nurses (n=5) from mixed acuity units. IRB approval was received. Established instruments measured TAM outcome variables (Behavioral Intention, Satisfaction) and predictor variables (Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use).2,3 Based upon recent literature, videogame experience and demographics were measured as predictor variables4.
INTERVENTION: ARNA is a mobile manipulator robot with 7-degree-of-freedom robotic arm with multiple sensors for navigation/safety and input devices for tablets and joystick.5
PROCEDURES: First, patients tele-operated the robot to deliver an object to themselves with a tablet and a joystick. Second, nurses controlled the robot along a predetermined path in the clinical unit. Third, patients and nurses completed questionnaires.
RESULTS: For patients, results of linear mixed-effect model fitting indicated that relationships between outcome variables (BI, Satisfaction) and predictor variables (PU and EU) were respectively positive and significant ( , 95% CI[0.65,1.23], p−value < 0.001; 95% CI[0.80,1.42], p− value < 0.001) ( , 95% CI[0.72,1.32], p−value < 0.001; 95% CI[0.76,1.49], p−value < 0.001). The effects of Joystick control or video-game playing experience on BI were positive and significant ( , 95% CI[0.18,1.37], p−value = 0.017; , 95% CI[0.12,0.91], p−value = 0.015). The effect of video-game playing experience on Satisfaction was positive and significant , 95% CI[0.08,0.87], p − value = 0.024). For nurses, there was a positive correlation (0.89) of EU with a video-game playing experience and negative (-0.90) for age.
IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING SCIENCE: Limitations include small sample size and one data collection site. Study results inform progressive advances in use of technology in global health care settings.
Notes
References:
1. Silva, P. (2015). Davis' Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (1989). In M. Al-Suqri & A. Al-Aufi (Eds.), Information Seeking Behavior and Technology Adoption: Theories and Trends (pp. 205-219). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-8156-9.ch013
2. Yilmaz, M. B., & Rizvanoglu, K. (2022). Understanding users’ behavioral intention to use voice assistants on smartphones through the integrated model of user satisfaction and technology acceptance: a survey approach. Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, 20 (6), 1738–1764. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEDT-02-2021-0084
3. Hajesmaeel-Gohari, S., Khordastan, F., Fatehi, F., Samzadeh, H., & Bahaadinbeigy, K. (2022). The most used questionnaires for evaluating satisfaction, usability, acceptance, and quality outcomes of mobile health. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, 22(1), 22. 10.1186/s12911-022-01764-2
4. Chatzoglou, P. D., Lazaraki, V., Apostolidis, S. D., & Gasteratos, A. C. (2024). Factors affecting acceptance of social robots among prospective users. International Journal of Social Robotics, 16(6), 1361-1380. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-023-01024-x
5. Fu, J., Rota, A., Li, S., Zhao, J., Liu, Q., Iovene, E., ... & De Momi, E. (2023, August). Recent advancements in augmented reality for robotic applications: A survey. In Actuators (Vol. 12, No. 8, p. 323). MDPI. https://doi.org/10.3390/act12080323
Sigma Membership
Iota Gamma
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Pilot/Exploratory Study
Keywords:
Acute Care, Workforce, Robotic Assistive Devices
Recommended Citation
Logsdon, Mimia Cynthia; Kondaurova, Irina; Sharafianardakani, Payman; Walker, Mandi; Mitchell, Heather; Zhang, Nancy; Shay, Branden; and Popa, Daniel O., "A Pilot Acceptability Trial of a Prototype Robotic Assistive Device in an Acute Care Setting" (2025). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 65.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2025/presentations_2025/65
Conference Name
36th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Seattle, Washington, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
A Pilot Acceptability Trial of a Prototype Robotic Assistive Device in an Acute Care Setting
Seattle, Washington, USA
BACKGROUND: If acceptable to users, technological innovations including robotic assistive devices have the potential to promote patient safety (fall prevention) and enhance nurse’s time management. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) explains how users accept new technology;1 two primary constructs, Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Perceived Ease of Use (EU), predict Behavioral Intentions (BI) and eventual use of technology with Satisfaction (S) added later as an outcome variable.2
Purpose: Guided by TAM, conduct a pilot acceptability trial of a prototype robotic assistive device (ARNA).
METHODS: Using convenience sampling in US urban acute care setting, study participants included patients (n=10) and nurses (n=5) from mixed acuity units. IRB approval was received. Established instruments measured TAM outcome variables (Behavioral Intention, Satisfaction) and predictor variables (Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use).2,3 Based upon recent literature, videogame experience and demographics were measured as predictor variables4.
INTERVENTION: ARNA is a mobile manipulator robot with 7-degree-of-freedom robotic arm with multiple sensors for navigation/safety and input devices for tablets and joystick.5
PROCEDURES: First, patients tele-operated the robot to deliver an object to themselves with a tablet and a joystick. Second, nurses controlled the robot along a predetermined path in the clinical unit. Third, patients and nurses completed questionnaires.
RESULTS: For patients, results of linear mixed-effect model fitting indicated that relationships between outcome variables (BI, Satisfaction) and predictor variables (PU and EU) were respectively positive and significant ( , 95% CI[0.65,1.23], p−value < 0.001; 95% CI[0.80,1.42], p− value < 0.001) ( , 95% CI[0.72,1.32], p−value < 0.001; 95% CI[0.76,1.49], p−value < 0.001). The effects of Joystick control or video-game playing experience on BI were positive and significant ( , 95% CI[0.18,1.37], p−value = 0.017; , 95% CI[0.12,0.91], p−value = 0.015). The effect of video-game playing experience on Satisfaction was positive and significant , 95% CI[0.08,0.87], p − value = 0.024). For nurses, there was a positive correlation (0.89) of EU with a video-game playing experience and negative (-0.90) for age.
IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING SCIENCE: Limitations include small sample size and one data collection site. Study results inform progressive advances in use of technology in global health care settings.
Description
Framed by Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the pilot acceptability trial employed a prototype robotic assistive device with patients and nurses in an acute care setting and demonstrated significant relationships between outcome variables (Behavioral Intention and Satisfaction) and predictor variables (Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, Videogame Experience). Results inform progressive advances in understanding use of technology in global health care.