Elaine Toomey
Papers
7
Total Citations
219
H-Index
6
About
Elaine Toomey is a health researcher whose work sits at the intersection of assistive technology, dementia care, and implementation science. She has established herself as a leading voice in understanding how social robots and robotic pets can address the pressing psychosocial challenges facing older adults and people with dementia, particularly issues of social isolation, loneliness, and activity disengagement in long-term care settings. Toomey's most influential contribution, a 2021 scoping review examining barriers and facilitators to social robot implementation, has garnered 122 citations, signaling its significance as a foundational reference in the field. Her research moves beyond simply documenting the benefits of pet robots to investigating the real-world determinants of their successful adoption in nursing homes, a critical but often overlooked dimension of healthcare innovation. Through methodological approaches including qualitative inquiry, consumer experience analysis, and modified Delphi studies, she has helped bridge the gap between promising technology and practical implementation. Her body of work provides healthcare practitioners, policymakers, and care home administrators with evidence-based strategies to meaningfully integrate robotic companions into dementia care. For students and researchers entering this space, Toomey's publications represent an essential roadmap for understanding both the promise and the practical complexity of technology-driven psychosocial interventions.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
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- 3Determinants of implementing pet robots in nursing homes for dementia care27 citations · 2022
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