Expectations and Ethical Dilemmas Concerning Healthcare Communication Robots in Healthcare Settings: A Nurse’s Perspective

Abstract

This chapter describes expectations and ethical dilemmas concerning healthcare communication robots (HCRs) from a nurse’s perspective. Ethical dilemmas in nursing settings are wide-ranging. When HCRs are introduced to long-term facilities and hospitals for patient communication, new kinds of ethical dilemmas may arise. Using interviews with healthcare providers, I examined the potential ethical dilemmas concerning the development and introduction of HCRs that may interact with older adults. This analysis was based on four primary issues from the nurses’ perspective. Since HCRs will be used in healthcare settings, it is important to protect patient rights and maintain their safety. To this end, discussion and collaboration with an interdisciplinary team is crucial to the process of developing these robots for use among patients.