A Single-Arm Interventional Trial of Pepper- Robot Delivered Cancer Education for Adults With Intellectual Disability

NCT07477938 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: Galway01
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 25
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Individuals with Intellectual disability face numerous barriers to cancer education, awareness and screening, including communication challenges, anxiety, and a lack of accessible educational resources. Traditional methods often fail to meet their unique learning needs, contributing to lower screening rates , delayed diagnoses and poorer outcomes.. Socially assistive robots, have demonstrated effectiveness in delivering interactive, engaging, and tailored education, helping individuals with cognitive impairments better understand medical procedures and the importance of preventive care. The study investigators propose to conduct a pilot single arm clinical trial with a semi humanoid robot to deliver cancer awareness education to adults with intellectual disability attending a disability day service in Ireland .The semi humanoid robot will be programmed to engage in 2 way communication about the cancer related educational content that is uploaded on its system. .Approximately 25 adults with ID will receive the robot led educational intervention addressing both breast and colorectal cancer awareness and screening. This a pragmatic pilot study to inform a future larger controlled clinical trial Our overall objective is to Improve breast and colorectal cancer awareness knowledge level among adults with ID receiving a robot-delivered education intervention

Conditions

Cancer Awareness and Prevention Education; Breast Cancer Awareness; Intellectual Disabilities (F70-F79)

Keywords

cancer awareness and prevention education; intellectual disablity; robotics; breast self examination

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in cancer awareness knowledge score range from pre- to post-intervention (immediate),

  Easy-read Knowledge Questionnaire (breast \& bowel awareness, 10-15 items each, pictorial supports, multiple choice/true-false.

  Before enrolment and post intervention -immediately after the final education session

Secondary Outcomes (7)

• Anxiety level related to checking for red flag symptoms (pre/post) using a 5-point visual faces scale validated/adapted for ID populations

  At baseline and post intervention -immediately after the final education session

• Intention to check for red flag symptoms (pre/post) on a 5-point pictorial Likert scale.

  At basline and post intervention -immediately after the final education session

• Participant experience of the semi-humanoid robot to deliver the educational program via short structured questionnaire.

  At baseline and post intervention -immediately after the final education session

• Participant acceptability of the semi-humanoid robot to deliver the educational program via short structured questionnaire.

  At baseline and post intervention -immediately after the final education session

• Participant reported usability of the semi-humanoid robot to deliver the educational program via short structured questionnaire.

  At baseline and post intervention -immediately after the final education session

Study Arms (1)

ARM A

EXPERIMENTAL

Each participant will receive at two ( or more if required) Pepper Robot sessions approx. 10-15 minutes delivered within a 2-week window, in small groups (2-5) or individually as needed. Breast cancer awareness and breast examination training will be delivered via pepper. Participants will use the breast examination mannequin and also the breast awareness shower card to enhance learning about performing self breast -examination Colorectal cancer awareness information and red flag symptoms will also be delivered via pepper

Other: Robot delivered Education

Interventions

Robot delivered Education OTHER

Two Pepper Robot educational sessions , each approx. 10-15 minutes in duration delivered within a 2-week window, to small groups (2-5) or individually if needed, to people with intellectual disability Breast cancer awareness and breast examination training will be delivered via the robot pepper. Participants will use the breast examination mannequin and also the breast awareness shower card to enhance learning about performing self breast -examination Colorectal cancer awareness information and red flag symptoms will also be delivered via pepper

ARM A

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Adults (≥18 years) with an intellectual disability requiring any level of support needs.
• Able to provide informed consent, or where capacity is limited, able to assent with decision support in line
• Attending the disability service day center.
• Sufficient receptive/expressive communication (with supports) to participate in interactive sessions

You may not qualify if:

• Severe sensory impairments that cannot be reasonably accommodated (e.g., profound hearing/vision loss without assistive solutions available for the session).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland: lead
• Brothers of Charity Services Galway Ireland: collaborator
• University College Hospital Galway: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University Hospital Galway

Galway, H91 YR 71, Ireland

Location

Related Publications (11)

• 11. Ortigosa Quiles JM, Garcia-Banda García G, Chellew K, Ponsell Vicens E, Riquelme Marín A, Nicolás Carrasco MP. Identification of degrees of anxiety in children with three- andfive-face facial scales. Psicothema 2013;25:446-51

  BACKGROUND

• 10. Cithambara k, Corby, D., & Hartnett, L ., Healy S., Joyce, D (2023). Breaking Down Barriers: An Assessment of the Needs of Disabled People in Accessing Population-Based Awareness Services in Ireland. 10.13140/RG.2.2.26735.82085.

  BACKGROUND

• 9. Desideri, L., Negrini, M., Malavasi, M. et al. Using a Humanoid Robot as a Complement to Interventions for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: a Pilot Study. Adv Neurodev Disord 2, 273-285 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41252-018

  BACKGROUND

• 8. Feil-Seifer, D., & Matarić, M. J. (2011). Socially assistive robotics. IEEE Transactions on Autonomous Mental Development, 3(1), 88-103.

  BACKGROUND

• 7. Papadopoulos, C., Koulouglioti, C., Ali, S., & Manthorpe, J. (2020). Promoting cancer awareness uptake for people with intellectual disabilities. BMC Public Health, 20(1), 1425

  BACKGROUND

• 6. Jordan A. Mann, Bruce A. MacDonald, I.-Han Kuo, Xingyan Li, Elizabeth Broadbent,People respond better to robots than computer tablets delivering healthcare instructions, Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 43,2015,Pages 112-117,ISSN 0747-5632,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.10.029

  BACKGROUND

• 5. Moyle, W., Jones, C., Cooke, M., O'Dwyer, S., Sung, B., & Drummond, S. (2017). Social robots helping people with dementia. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 26(23-24), 4765-4776

  BACKGROUND

• 4. Mitchell, A., Sitbon, L., Balasuriya, S.S., Koplick, S., Beaumont, C. (2021). Social Robots in Learning Experiences of Adults with Intellectual Disability: An Exploratory Study. In: Ardito, C., et al. Human-Computer Interaction - INTERACT 2021. INTERACT 2021. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12932. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85623-6_17

  BACKGROUND

• 3. Scassellati, B., Admoni, H., & Matarić, M. (2018). Robots for use in autism research. Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering, 20, 275-294

  BACKGROUND

• 2. Flynn, S., Hulbert-Williams, N. J., Bramwell, R., & Stevens-Gill, D. (2015). Beliefs about cancer and health behaviors among individuals with intellectual disabilities. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 28(1), 36-45.

  BACKGROUND

• 1. Tuffrey-Wijne, I., Curfs, L., Finlay, I., Hollins, S., & Bernal, J. (2018). Cancer care for people with intellectual disabilities. European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 35, 25-30.

  BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Intellectual Disability; Breast Self-Examination

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Neurologic Manifestations; Nervous System Diseases; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Mental Disorders; Self-Examination; Health Behavior; Behavior

Study Officials

• Veronica McInerney, RN,PhD

  University of Galway

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Aoife Lowery, MB,FRCS,PhD

  University of Galway

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Veronica McInerney, RN,PhD

CONTACT

+353 91494031; veronica.mcinerney@universityofgalway.ie

Aoife Lowery, MB,FRCS,PhD

CONTACT

+353 91 493033; alowery@universityofgalway.ie

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Dr

Model Details: This is a single-arm, open-label, non-randomized pilot feasibility trial conducted at a single community site with support from Galway University Hospital Cancer Services and University of Galway Research team. Approximately 25 adults with ID will receive the robot ' Pepper'-led education intervention addressing both breast and colorectal cancer awareness. This a pragmatic pilot study to inform a future larger controlled clinical trial.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 26, 2026
• First Posted: March 17, 2026
• Study Start: May 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 30, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): September 30, 2026
• Last Updated: March 17, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF, CSR
• Time Frame: Unending beginning after data analysis
• Access Criteria: data repository

Locations

IE (1)