Clinical Scorecard: Participant Factors Linked to Reduced Loneliness in Older Japanese Adults Living Alone During a Digital Social Robot Intervention: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial

At a Glance

Key Highlights

• This secondary analysis used intervention-phase data from a randomized controlled trial and pooled immediate and delayed intervention sequences.
• Preintervention and postintervention loneliness data were available for 67 participants.
• The intervention was a 4-week program using an operator-mediated humanoid robot for personalized voice communication.
• Loneliness change was measured with the 20-item UCLA Loneliness Scale, version 3; negative pre-to-post difference scores denoted reduced loneliness.
• Regression models examined baseline social contact and loneliness alongside demographic and health characteristics; one model included a social-contact-by-loneliness interaction.

Guideline-Based Recommendations

Diagnosis

Management

Monitoring & Follow-up

Risks

• Participant flow: two participants in the immediate sequence withdrew (one declined participation and one reported a hearing problem); four in the delayed sequence declined participation, including one during the subsequent intervention period.

Patient & Prescribing Data

Participants received a 4-week intervention with the BOCCO emo humanoid robot. A regression model examined loneliness change in relation to baseline social contact and loneliness, sex, age, marital status, education, subjective financial stability, self-rated health, long-term care certification, and intervention sequence.

Clinical Best Practices

• Interpret the findings as a secondary analysis of intervention-phase data from a randomized controlled trial.
• The supplied article excerpt does not include the results of the regression analysis; it therefore does not establish which participant characteristics were associated with greater loneliness reductions.

Related Resources & Content

• Murayama H, Takase M. Evaluating the effectiveness of digital social robots in reducing loneliness among community-dwelling older adults in Japan: randomized controlled trial and qualitative analysis. JMIR Aging. 2025;8:e74422.
• Russell DW. UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3): reliability, validity, and factor structure. J Pers Assess. 1996;66(1):20-40.