From the need to responsible adoption of (integrated) Social Robotics in long-term care
B.M. Hofstede (Convener). Gerontechnology 25(s) Participants: E.J. Oosterglorenwoud (The Netherlands), H.H. Nap & S. Ipakchian Askari (The Netherlands), F. Wang (The Netherlands), S. Freeman & E. Rossnagel (Canada). Co-authors: A.Tummers, E. Ágotai, R.H. Cuijpers, W.A. IJsselsteijn, N.E. Stolwijk, T.R.C. van Hoesel, G. Perugia, Y. Feng.
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AbstractISSUE: To support older adults in their need to live independently in their own homes as long as possible [1], Socially Assistive Technologies (SATs) offer significant potential. Furthermore, it is widely recognised that SATs can support mitigating challenges related to shortages in healthcare personnel [2,3]. However, the transition from successful pilots to sustainable implementation in long-term care has shown to be complex. Social robots serve as a good example of SATs, for which current implementation challenges include generic interaction styles, lack of integration with existing care ecosystems, ethical concerns regarding deception, and systemic barriers to adoption [4]. This symposium brings together multidisciplinary experts from around the world to shine a light on these issues from different perspectives, presenting a holistic view of the social robot as it is implemented in long-term care. The goal of this symposium is to provide insights into various stages of the social robotics landscape, bridging the gap between individual user needs and systemic adoption. CONTENT: 1. Hofstede (The Netherlands) will focus on (latent) user needs of older adults during their interaction with robots. Among others, the presentation will highlight the necessity for personalisation based on an ethnographic exploration of communication breakdowns observed in daily care (N=19). 2. Oosterglorenwoud (The Netherlands) will introduce the concept of the 'Emotional Passport' as a method to conserve dignity in the design and deployment of SATs, moving beyond clinical data to capture the person behind the patient. 3. Nap & Ipakchian Askari (The Netherlands) will demonstrate the importance of technical integration between social robots and other healthcare technology such as smart sensors (IoT). They will present findings on how connecting robots to the wider sensor ecosystem enables context-aware and proactive support for older adults. 4. Wang (The Netherlands) will focus on deception in social robots for People Living with Dementia (PLwD). Drawing on a multi-method, multi-stakeholder PhD project, the presentation will bring different and lived perspectives into current debates on Social Robotic Deception and inform ethically responsible social robot design. 5. Freeman & Rossnagel (Canada) will identify systemic facilitators and barriers for the sustainable adoption of SATs, with a specific focus on the unique challenges faced by northern, rural, and remote communities in Canada. CONCLUSION: This multidisciplinary symposium synthesizes findings from five distinct research initiatives conducted in the Netherlands and Canada, bridging engineering, psychology, ethics, and health sciences. The methodological approaches presented range from ethnographic field studies and Research through Design (RtD) frameworks to technical field trials involving IoT integration and qualitative implementation studies in long-term care settings. Together, these contributions demonstrate that responsible implementation of SATs requires a holistic approach that aligns engineering capabilities with individual user needs, ethical standards and real world care practices. The overarching takeaway is that for the next generation of SATs to succeed, we must move beyond the device itself and keep the entire socio-technical ecosystem in mind when designing and deploying SATs.Keywords: Active and Assisted Living, dementia care, cross-cultural, eHealth, data-driven care
B.M. Hofstede (Convener). Gerontechnology 25(s) Participants: E.J. Oosterglorenwoud (The Netherlands), H.H. Nap & S. Ipakchian Askari (The Netherlands), F. Wang (The Netherlands), S. Freeman & E. Rossnagel (Canada). Co-authors: A.Tummers, E. Ágotai, R.H. Cuijpers, W.A. IJsselsteijn, N.E. Stolwijk, T.R.C. van Hoesel, G. Perugia, Y. Feng. (2026). From the need to responsible adoption of (integrated) Social Robotics in long-term care. Gerontechnology, 25(2), 1-10
https://doi.org/10.4017/gt.2026.25.2.1594.3