Use of communication robots to converse with people suffering from schizophrenia

Background Medication is an important approach of treatment for patients with schizophrenia; however, the availability of visiting nurses and other human-related support is limited. This study aims to build a system in which service robots support the treatment of individuals with schizophrenia with medication at home. Moreover, medical staff can seamlessly monitor the status of their patients through the robots using this system. In this study, to develop a support system, interactions between a communication robot and patients were surveyed, with a focus on the patients’ impression of the robot and actual utterance times. Methods Communication between a commercially available communication robot and schizophrenic patients was investigated, particularly the participants’ feelings about the robot. In addition, the utterance data between the participants and the robot were extracted and the durations of the conversations were assessed. Results The examined interaction mode of a robot (talkative or not talkative) and whether the participant spoke or not (spoke or did not speak) revealed no significant association in all adjectives. A co-occurrence network graph showed differences in the participants’ impressions of the robot depending on how talkative the robot was. That is, when the robot did not initiate conversation often, the patient was more likely to initiate interactions and use longer phrases than when the robot initiated conversation frequently. Conversations also lasted longer when the participant, not the robot, initiated conversation. Conclusions People with schizophrenia converse with a robot regardless of whether the robot is talkative or not. Since the content of the conversation was not analyzed qualitatively, it is necessary to carefully examine whether people with schizophrenia can develop partnerships with robots.