Empirical studies on nonverbal communication for caring elderly people with dementia by using dance performance and robots.

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24300200
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Rehabilitation science/Welfare engineering
• Research Institution: Osaka University
• Principal Investigator: NISHIKAWA Masaru 大阪大学, コミュニケーションデザイン・センター, 教授 (10420423)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): FUJINAMI Tsutomu 北陸先端科学技術大学院大学, ライフスタイルデザイン研究センター, 教授 (70303344) ; NISHIO Shuichi 株式会社国際電気通信基礎技術研究所, 石黒特別研究室, 主幹研究員 (80418532)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 身体コミュニケーション / 認知症高齢者 / ダンス / 遠隔操作アンドロイド

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Through both qualitative and quantitative studies on dance performance and communication robots for elderly people with dementia, we have explored the examination of caring possibilities of embodiment of these communication facilities. We have organized forty-four times dance performance workshops by using hybrid forms between Socratic dialogue and collaborative dance practices with choreographer cum dancer at some special elderly nursing homes. Almost all performances were recorded by observation tools and were analyzed for accounting posture resonance behavior between dancer and patients. We have had also practical implementations of remote-operated android robot, (c)Telenoid, in nursing contexts for dementia patients. We have confirmed that the interrelation between bodily expression-sensitivity and communicative-empathy can be important factor for caring elderly people with dementia.

Free Research Field

看護、臨床哲学、コミュニケーションデザイン