Understanding the Connection Among Ikigai, Well-Being, and Home Robot Acceptance in Japanese Older Adults: Mixed Methods Study
BackgroundIkigai (meaning or purpose in life) is a concept understood by most older adults in Japan. The term has also garnered international attention, with recent academic attempts to map it to concepts in the Western well-being literature. In addition, efforts to use socia...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
JMIR Publications
2023-10-01
|
| Series: | JMIR Aging |
| Online Access: | https://aging.jmir.org/2023/1/e45442 |
| _version_ | 1797665006519582720 |
|---|---|
| author | Natasha Randall Waki Kamino Swapna Joshi Wei-Chu Chen Long-Jing Hsu Katherine M Tsui Selma Šabanović |
| author_facet | Natasha Randall Waki Kamino Swapna Joshi Wei-Chu Chen Long-Jing Hsu Katherine M Tsui Selma Šabanović |
| author_sort | Natasha Randall |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundIkigai (meaning or purpose in life) is a concept understood by most older adults in Japan. The term has also garnered international attention, with recent academic attempts to map it to concepts in the Western well-being literature. In addition, efforts to use social and home robots to increase well-being have grown; however, they have mostly focused on hedonic well-being (eg, increasing happiness and decreasing loneliness) rather than eudaimonic well-being (eg, fostering meaning or purpose in life).
ObjectiveFirst, we explored how Japanese older adults experience ikigai and relate these to concepts in the Western well-being literature. Second, we investigated how a home robot meant to promote ikigai is perceived by older adults.
MethodsWe used a mixed methods research design—including 20 interviews with older adults, a survey of 50 older adults, and 10 interviews with family caregivers. For interviews, we asked questions about older adults’ sources of ikigai, happiness, and social support, along with their perception of the robot (QT). For surveys, a number of well-being scales were used, including 2 ikigai scales—ikigai-9 and K-1—and 6 Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System scales, measuring meaning and purpose, positive affect, satisfaction with participation in social roles, satisfaction with participation in discretionary social activities, companionship, and emotional support. Questions related to the perception and desired adoption of the robot and older adults’ health status were also included.
ResultsOur results suggest that health is older adults’ most common source of ikigai. Additionally, although self-rated health correlated moderately with ikigai and other well-being measures, reported physical limitation did not. As opposed to social roles (work and family), we found that ikigai is more strongly related to satisfaction with discretionary social activities (leisure, hobbies, and friends) for older adults. Moreover, we found that older adults’ sources of ikigai included the eudaimonic aspects of vitality, positive relations with others, contribution, accomplishment, purpose, and personal growth, with the first 3 being most common, and the hedonic aspects of positive affect, life satisfaction, and lack of negative affect, with the first 2 being most common. However, the concept of ikigai was most related to eudaimonic well-being, specifically meaning in life, along the dimension of significance. Finally, we found that Japanese older adults have high expectations of a home robot for well-being, mentioning that it should support them in a multitude of ways before they would likely adopt it. However, we report that those with the highest levels of meaning, and satisfaction with their leisure life and friendships, may be most likely to adopt it.
ConclusionsWe outline several ways to improve the robot to increase its acceptance, such as improving its voice, adding functional features, and designing it to support multiple aspects of well-being. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T19:37:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7cb592e557c340b781f4f746d8cc3063 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2561-7605 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T19:37:37Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Aging |
| spelling | doaj.art-7cb592e557c340b781f4f746d8cc30632023-10-06T13:07:13ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Aging2561-76052023-10-016e4544210.2196/45442Understanding the Connection Among Ikigai, Well-Being, and Home Robot Acceptance in Japanese Older Adults: Mixed Methods StudyNatasha Randallhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0235-5262Waki Kaminohttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6164-609XSwapna Joshihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3518-6170Wei-Chu Chenhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-4388-0688Long-Jing Hsuhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9975-9436Katherine M Tsuihttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1262-4083Selma Šabanovićhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2553-854X BackgroundIkigai (meaning or purpose in life) is a concept understood by most older adults in Japan. The term has also garnered international attention, with recent academic attempts to map it to concepts in the Western well-being literature. In addition, efforts to use social and home robots to increase well-being have grown; however, they have mostly focused on hedonic well-being (eg, increasing happiness and decreasing loneliness) rather than eudaimonic well-being (eg, fostering meaning or purpose in life). ObjectiveFirst, we explored how Japanese older adults experience ikigai and relate these to concepts in the Western well-being literature. Second, we investigated how a home robot meant to promote ikigai is perceived by older adults. MethodsWe used a mixed methods research design—including 20 interviews with older adults, a survey of 50 older adults, and 10 interviews with family caregivers. For interviews, we asked questions about older adults’ sources of ikigai, happiness, and social support, along with their perception of the robot (QT). For surveys, a number of well-being scales were used, including 2 ikigai scales—ikigai-9 and K-1—and 6 Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System scales, measuring meaning and purpose, positive affect, satisfaction with participation in social roles, satisfaction with participation in discretionary social activities, companionship, and emotional support. Questions related to the perception and desired adoption of the robot and older adults’ health status were also included. ResultsOur results suggest that health is older adults’ most common source of ikigai. Additionally, although self-rated health correlated moderately with ikigai and other well-being measures, reported physical limitation did not. As opposed to social roles (work and family), we found that ikigai is more strongly related to satisfaction with discretionary social activities (leisure, hobbies, and friends) for older adults. Moreover, we found that older adults’ sources of ikigai included the eudaimonic aspects of vitality, positive relations with others, contribution, accomplishment, purpose, and personal growth, with the first 3 being most common, and the hedonic aspects of positive affect, life satisfaction, and lack of negative affect, with the first 2 being most common. However, the concept of ikigai was most related to eudaimonic well-being, specifically meaning in life, along the dimension of significance. Finally, we found that Japanese older adults have high expectations of a home robot for well-being, mentioning that it should support them in a multitude of ways before they would likely adopt it. However, we report that those with the highest levels of meaning, and satisfaction with their leisure life and friendships, may be most likely to adopt it. ConclusionsWe outline several ways to improve the robot to increase its acceptance, such as improving its voice, adding functional features, and designing it to support multiple aspects of well-being.https://aging.jmir.org/2023/1/e45442 |
| spellingShingle | Natasha Randall Waki Kamino Swapna Joshi Wei-Chu Chen Long-Jing Hsu Katherine M Tsui Selma Šabanović Understanding the Connection Among Ikigai, Well-Being, and Home Robot Acceptance in Japanese Older Adults: Mixed Methods Study JMIR Aging |
| title | Understanding the Connection Among Ikigai, Well-Being, and Home Robot Acceptance in Japanese Older Adults: Mixed Methods Study |
| title_full | Understanding the Connection Among Ikigai, Well-Being, and Home Robot Acceptance in Japanese Older Adults: Mixed Methods Study |
| title_fullStr | Understanding the Connection Among Ikigai, Well-Being, and Home Robot Acceptance in Japanese Older Adults: Mixed Methods Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Understanding the Connection Among Ikigai, Well-Being, and Home Robot Acceptance in Japanese Older Adults: Mixed Methods Study |
| title_short | Understanding the Connection Among Ikigai, Well-Being, and Home Robot Acceptance in Japanese Older Adults: Mixed Methods Study |
| title_sort | understanding the connection among ikigai well being and home robot acceptance in japanese older adults mixed methods study |
| url | https://aging.jmir.org/2023/1/e45442 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT natasharandall understandingtheconnectionamongikigaiwellbeingandhomerobotacceptanceinjapaneseolderadultsmixedmethodsstudy AT wakikamino understandingtheconnectionamongikigaiwellbeingandhomerobotacceptanceinjapaneseolderadultsmixedmethodsstudy AT swapnajoshi understandingtheconnectionamongikigaiwellbeingandhomerobotacceptanceinjapaneseolderadultsmixedmethodsstudy AT weichuchen understandingtheconnectionamongikigaiwellbeingandhomerobotacceptanceinjapaneseolderadultsmixedmethodsstudy AT longjinghsu understandingtheconnectionamongikigaiwellbeingandhomerobotacceptanceinjapaneseolderadultsmixedmethodsstudy AT katherinemtsui understandingtheconnectionamongikigaiwellbeingandhomerobotacceptanceinjapaneseolderadultsmixedmethodsstudy AT selmasabanovic understandingtheconnectionamongikigaiwellbeingandhomerobotacceptanceinjapaneseolderadultsmixedmethodsstudy |