Hospitality Oriented Service Perception Evolution With Robots (HOSPER)

NCT07002411 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: INRCA_008_2024
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 200
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The HOSPER project aims to determine if using Pepper and NAO social robots at the IRCCS INRCA in Ancona's (Italy) entrance is a viable way to improve the current reception and guidance services for hospital visitors. The robots will offer proactive assistance and directions to departments.

Conditions

Quality of Hospital Entrance Reception; Social Robots

Keywords

Older people

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• perceived quality of the innovative reception service

  The perceived quality will be evaluated by an ad hoc Customer Satisfaction questionnaire. The definition of this indicator is evaluated by quantifying several variables, including: the attention received from the robot in terms of accuracy of the interaction and courtesy (score from 1 - not at all satisfied - to 7 - very satisfied), the clarity and completeness of the information received (score from 1 - not at all satisfied - to 7 - very satisfied), the respect for personal privacy (score from 1 - not at all satisfied - to 7 - very satisfied), the overall satisfaction with the service provided (score from 1 - not at all satisfied - to 7 - very satisfied), and whether the service would be recommended to others (score from 1 - absolutely not - to 7 - definitely yes).

  immediately after the intervention

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Usability

  immediately after the intervention

Study Arms (2)

ARM 1

EXPERIMENTAL

Older subjects attending the INRCA hospital entrance

Other: Innovative hospital reception service with social robot NAO

ARM 2

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Older subjects attending the INRCA hospital entrance

Other: Innovative hospital reception service with social robot PEPPER

Interventions

Innovative hospital reception service with social robot NAO OTHER

The robot NAO welcomes the user and asks how it can assist them. At this point, the user responds, and the robot, in turn, replies in two possible ways: If it has not understood the request, it prompts the user to rephrase it, and the process returns to the previous point. If it has understood the request, it explains the route the user needs to follow. Once the interaction has been successful or two consecutive attempts have failed, the robot asks the user if the necessary information has been provided. If yes, the robot dismisses the user. If no, the interaction resumes from the point where the robot asks for the department to reach or the exam to take.

ARM 1

Innovative hospital reception service with social robot PEPPER OTHER

The robot PEPPER welcomes the user and asks how it can assist them, stating the following phrase: "Good morning and welcome to INRCA. I am PEPPER and I am here to provide directions to help you reach your desired location within the hospital. Which department do you need to reach or which exam do you need to take? " At this point, the user responds, and the robot, in turn, replies in two possible ways: If it has not understood the request, it prompts the user to rephrase it, and the process returns to the previous point. If it has understood the request, it explains the route the user needs to follow. Once the interaction has been successful or two consecutive attempts have failed, the robot asks the user if the necessary information has been provided. If yes, the robot dismisses the user as follows: "Thank you for your participation. Have a good day." If no, the interaction resumes from the point where the robot asks for the department to reach or the exam to take.

ARM 2

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 65 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Possession of full cognitive capacity;

You may not qualify if:

• Lack of written informed consent

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Istituto Nazionale di Ricovero e Cura per Anziani: lead

Study Sites (1)

IRCCS INRCA Hospital

Ancona, 60127, Italy

RECRUITING

Study Officials

• Letizia Ferrara, MD

  IRCCS INRCA, Ancona, Italy

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Anna Rita Bonfigli

CONTACT

0718003719; a.bonfigli@inrca.it

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 14, 2025
• First Posted: June 3, 2025
• Study Start: December 18, 2024
• Primary Completion: July 30, 2025
• Study Completion: July 30, 2025
• Last Updated: June 3, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

IT (1)