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  4. Are Functional Measures Sufficient to Capture Acceptance? A Qualitative Study on Lower Limb Exoskeleton Use for Older People
 
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research article

Are Functional Measures Sufficient to Capture Acceptance? A Qualitative Study on Lower Limb Exoskeleton Use for Older People

Carral, Maria del Rio
•
Bourqui, Vanlisa
•
Vuilleumier, Noemie
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2022
International Journal Of Social Robotics

Lower limb exoskeletons (LLE) are robotic devices developed to assist walk. In the field of healthcare, this technology has been available for almost a decade, yet it still faces important acceptance issues. While LLE were first developed for patients with spinal cord injuries, we expect their use to expand to everyday settings to benefit other populations, namely that of older people with reduced mobility (RM). We propose a qualitative approach to unearth key psychosocial themes on the acceptance of LLE in daily living for older people. The study analyses perceptions of older people with RM, as well as their entourage, including informal and professional caregivers. Using a grounded theory approach we analysed 12 semi-structured interviews with older people with RM; 2 focus groups with informal caregivers, and 2 focus groups with professional caregivers. LLE were introduced to participants through photo-elicitation. Older people with RM believed that LLE would increase their autonomy. They also perceived that using LLE would make them feel less of a burden for their entourage. Beyond these expected benefits, results captured participants' ambivalence, dependent on their experiences of the ageing process and perceptions on the human-machine interaction. Informal caregivers highlighted that LLE could provide important relief related to the burden of care. Nonetheless, professional caregivers raised the fear of LLE leading to dehumanization of care. While each group had specific concerns on how LLE use would impact their lives, psychosocial considerations played a key role in LLE acceptance.

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Type
research article
DOI
10.1007/s12369-021-00810-9
Web of Science ID

WOS:000676055500001

Author(s)
Carral, Maria del Rio
•
Bourqui, Vanlisa
•
Vuilleumier, Noemie
•
Ortieb, Amalric
•
Bouri, Mohamed  
Date Issued

2022

Publisher

SPRINGER

Published in
International Journal Of Social Robotics
Volume

14

Start page

603

End page

616

Subjects

Robotics

•

lower-limb exoskeleton

•

older people with reduced mobility

•

ageing

•

assistive technology

•

qualitative methods

•

devices-from wheelchair

•

technology

•

embodiment

•

robots

•

care

Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
BIOROB  
Available on Infoscience
August 14, 2021
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/180605
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