Exploring Barriers and Facilitators to the Implementation of Pet Robots for People With Dementia in Nursing Homes: A Qualitative Research Protocol

People living with dementia, especially those who live in nursing homes, are susceptible to social isolation and activity disengagement. Pet robots are technology-based substitutes to animal-assisted therapy that have demonstrated positive impacts on people with dementia in long term care settings, such as reducing agitation, improving mood and increasing social engagement. Nevertheless, knowledge about the issues influencing their implementation is lacking, as there is a scarcity of research that have explicitly investigated the barriers and facilitators influencing their implementation in real-world practice. The objective of this study is to understand the multi-level barriers and facilitators to the implementation of pet robots for people with living dementia in nursing homes, from the perspectives of key stakeholders. A qualitative study employing a descriptive qualitative approach will be used. The Consolidated Framework of Implementation Research (CFIR) will be used to guide the research process. Multi-level stakeholders, including people living with dementia, healthcare professionals and organisational decision makers in nursing homes, will be recruited for one-to-one interviews. Data will be analysed through framework analysis, using a combination of both deductive (based on the constructs and domains in the CFIR) and inductive approaches. To the best of our knowledge, this will be the first study to explore multi-level determinants to the implementation of pet robots in nursing homes for people living with dementia. Findings will be used to inform the identification of strategies that may be used to guide the implementation of pet robots for people living with dementia in nursing homes.