Acceptance of a Mobile Telepresence Robot, before Use, to Remotely Supervise Older Adults’ Adapted Physical Activity

Overview & Synopsis

Many older adults remain sedentary because they do not have access to specialized facilities or adapted physical activity (APA) teachers. To solve this health issue, mobile telepresence robots (MTRs) could allow APA sessions to be supervised by a teacher from a distant location. However, their acceptance has never been investigated in the context of APA. A sample of 230 French older adults filled out a questionnaire assessing the variables of the Technology Acceptance Model and their expectations for aging. The results showed that the more the older adults found the MTR useful, easy to use, enjoyable, and recommended by their entourage, the more they intended to use it. Moreover, older adults who expected higher health-related quality of life with aging are those who found the MTR more useful. Finally, older adults significantly found the MTR useful, easy to use, and pleasant to use for remote supervision of their physical activity.