Robots in nursing homes can improve patient care, employee retention, finds study

Nursing homes are increasingly turning to robots to complete a variety of care tasks to offset high employee turnover and an aging population. In 2022, for instance, more than 57 million U.S. residents were 65 or older, according to the National Council on Aging. The Census Bureau forecasts that by 2050, this number will grow to 88.5 million.

However, there hasn’t been much research into how these robots could affect workers and the quality of care at nursing homes.

A new study from the University of Notre Dame associated robot use with increased employment and employee retention, improved productivity, and a higher quality of care. The research has implications for the workplace and the long-term care industry, the researchers said.

“This research provides critical insights into how societies can successfully navigate the challenges of caring for aging populations,” said Yong Suk Lee, the lead author of the study. “It will help inform the work of the long-term care industry and help us better understand how technologies impact workers and patients.”

Lee is an associate professor of technology, economy, and global affairs at Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs. 

Most studies of robots in the workplace have focused on manufacturing and the industrial sector. Lee’s research broke new ground by analyzing long-term care and looking at the different types of robots used in this setting. Researchers drew on surveys of Japanese nursing homes taken in 2020 and 2022.

“Our research focused on Japan because it is a super-aging society that provides a good example of what the future could entail elsewhere — a declining population, a growing share of senior citizens, and a declining share of working-age people,” Lee said. “We need to be ready for this new reality.”

The impact of robots on healthcare workers

In a future where more senior citizens require care, the targeted use of robots could benefit workers and patients, Lee said. The study analyzed three types of robots that are increasingly used in assisted living facilities:

• Transfer robots: Nurses use these robots to lift, move, and rotate patients in beds and around rooms. 
• Mobility robots: Patients use these robots to move around and bathe. 
• Monitoring and communication robots: These include technologies like computer vision and bed sensors that monitor patient data such as movement. The technologies then share this data with care providers. 

“We found that robot adoption complements care workers by reducing quit rates,” Lee said. “This is important because turnover is a big concern in nursing homes. Workers typically experience a great deal of physical pain, particularly in their knees and back. The work is hard, and the pay is low. So robot use was associated with employee retention.”

While robot use was associated with an overall employment increase, Lee said, the trend seems to have helped some workers more than others. It was associated with an increased demand for part-time, less experienced employees and with less demand for more experienced workers.

How robots can benefit patients in nursing homes

The study also found that patients benefitted from being in facilities that use robots. The nursing homes that Lee’s team studied reported a decrease in the use of patient restraints.

In addition, robots can reduce pressure ulcers or bedsores that nursing home residents commonly suffer. These occur largely because of a lack of mobility. Both metrics are widely used in the long-term care industry to measure patient outcomes, said Lee.

By removing the physical strain associated with certain tasks, robots may have made room for care workers to focus on tasks better suited for human beings, he added.

“Robots can improve productivity by shifting the tasks performed by care workers to those involving human touch, empathy and dexterity,” Lee said. “Ultimately, robots can help workers provide a higher level of patient care.”

Lee co-authored the study with Toshiaki Iizuka from the University of Tokyo and Karen Eggleston from Stanford University.

The study received funding from Stanford’s Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies Japan Fund and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. It also received support from the Keough School’s Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies and Kellogg Institute for International Studies.

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