Scenario-Based Assessment of User Needs for Point-of-Care Robots

Objectives

This study aimed to derive specific user requirements and barriers in a real medical environment to define the essential elements and functions of two types of point-of-care (POC) robot: a telepresence robot as a tool for teleconsultation, and a bedside robot to provide emotional care for patients.

Methods

An analysis of user requirements was conducted; user needs were gathered and identified, and detailed, realistic scenarios were created. The prototype robots were demonstrated in physical environments for envisioning and evaluation. In all, three nurses and three clinicians participated as evaluators to observe the demonstrations and evaluate the robot systems. The evaluators were given a brief explanation of each scene and the robots' functionality. Four major functions of the teleconsultation robot were defined and tested in the demonstration. In addition, four major functions of the bedside robot were evaluated.

Results

Among the desired functions for a teleconsultation robot, medical information delivery and communication had high priority. For a bedside robot, patient support, patient monitoring, and healthcare provider support were the desired functions. The evaluators reported that the teleconsultation robot can increase support from and access to specialists and resources. They mentioned that the bedside robot can improve the quality of hospital life. Problems identified in the demonstration were those of space conflict, communication errors, and safety issues.

Conclusions

Incorporating this technology into healthcare services will enhance communication and teamwork skills across distances and thereby facilitate teamwork. However, repeated tests will be needed to evaluate and ensure improved performance.

Hospital discharge: What are the problems, information needs and objectives of community pharmacists? A mixed method approach

BACKGROUND

After hospital discharge, community pharmacists are often the first health care professionals the discharged patient encounters. They reconcile and dispense prescribed medicines and provide pharmaceutical care. Compared to the roles of general practitioners, the pharmacists' needs to perform these tasks are not well known.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to a) Identify community pharmacists' current problems and roles at hospital discharge, b) Assess their information needs, specifically the availability and usefulness of information, and c) Gain insight into pharmacists' objectives and ideas for discharge optimisation.

METHODS

A focus group was conducted with a sample of six community pharmacists from different Swiss regions. Based on these qualitative results, a nationwide online-questionnaire was sent to 1348 Swiss pharmacies.

RESULTS

The focus group participants were concerned about their extensive workload with discharge prescriptions and about gaps in therapy. They emphasised the importance of more extensive information transfer. This applied especially to medication changes, unclear prescriptions, and information about a patient's care. Participants identified treatment continuity as a main objective when it comes to discharge optimisation. There were 194 questionnaires returned (response rate 14.4%). The majority of respondents reported to fulfil their role as defined by the Joint-FIP/WHO Guideline on Good Pharmacy Practice (rather) badly. They reported many unavailable but useful information items, like therapy changes, allergies, specifications for "off-label" medication use or contact information. Information should be delivered in a structured way, but no clear preference for one particular transfer method was found. Pharmacists requested this information in order to improve treatment continuity and patient safety, and to be able to provide better pharmaceutical care services.

CONCLUSION

Surveyed Swiss community pharmacists rarely receive sufficient information along with discharge prescriptions, although it would be needed for medication reconciliation. According to the pharmacist's opinions, appropriate pharmaceutical care is therefore impeded.

Rapid Health Needs Assessment after Typhoons Bolaven and Tembin Using the Public Health Assessment for Emergency Response Toolkit in Paju and Jeju, Korea 2012

Following natural disasters, rapid health needs assessments are required to quickly assess health status and help decision making during the recovery phase. The Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) developed the Public Health Assessment for Emergency Response (PHASER) Toolkit which was optimized for a weather disaster in Korea. The goal of this study is to assess public health needs following the 2012 typhoons Bolaven and Tembin in both urban and rural areas in Korea. We conducted pilot trials using the PHASER toolkit to assess health needs following typhoons Bolaven and Tembin in Paju and Jeju during summer 2012. We sampled 400 households in Jeju and 200 households in Paju using a multistage cluster sampling design method. We used a standardized household tracking sheet and household survey sheet to collect data on the availability of resource for daily life, required health needs, clinical results and accessibility of medical services. The primary outcomes were clinical results and accessibility of medical service after the typhoons. We completed surveys for 190 households in Paju and 386 households in Jeju. Sleeping disorders were identified in 6.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.8%-10.8%) surveyed in Paju and 17.4% (95% CI, 12.8%-22.0%) in Jeju. We used the PHASER toolkit to assess healthcare needs rapidly after 2 typhoons in Korea. Sleeping disorders were frequently identified in both Paju and Jeju following the 2 typhoons.

Increased Public Accountability for Hospital Nonprofit Status: Potential Impacts on Residency Positions

BACKGROUND

The Institute of Medicine recently called for greater graduate medical education (GME) accountability for meeting the workforce needs of the nation. The Affordable Care Act expanded community health needs assessment (CHNA) requirements for nonprofit and tax-exempt hospitals to include community assessment, intervention, and evaluation every 3 years but did not specify details about workforce. Texas receives relatively little federal GME funding but has used Medicaid waivers to support GME expansion. The objective of this article was to examine Texas CHNAs and regional health partnership (RHP) plans to determine to what extent they identify community workforce need or include targeted GME changes or expansion since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act and the revised Internal Revenue Service requirements for CHNAs.

METHODS

Texas hospitals (n = 61) received federal GME dollars during the study period. Most of these hospitals completed a CHNA; nearly all hospitals receiving federal GME dollars but not mandated to complete a CHNA participated in similar state-based RHP plans. The 20 RHPs included assessments and intervention proposals under a 1115 Medicaid waiver. Every CHNA and RHP was reviewed for any mention of GME-related needs or interventions. The latest available CHNAs and RHPs were reviewed in 2015. All CHNA and RHP plans were dated 2011 to 2015.

RESULTS

Of the 38 hospital CHNAs, 26 identified a workforce need in primary care, 34 in mental health, and 17 in subspecialty care. A total of 36 CHNAs included implementation plans, of which 3 planned to address the primary care workforce need through an increase in GME funding, 1 planned to do so for psychiatry training, and 1 for subspecialty training. Of the 20 RHPs, 18 identified workforce needs in primary care, 20 in mental health, and 15 in subspecialty training. Five RHPs proposed to increase GME funding for primary care, 3 for psychiatry, and 1 for subspecialty care.

CONCLUSIONS

Hospital CHNAs and other regional health assessments could be potentially strategic mechanisms to assess community needs as well as GME accountability in light of community needs and to guide GME expansion more strategically. Internal Revenue Service guidance regarding CHNAs could include workforce needs assessment and intervention requirements. Preference for future Medicaid or Medicare GME funding expansion could potentially favor states that use CHNAs or RHPs to identify workforce needs and track outcomes of related interventions.

Improving Efficiency While Improving Patient Care in a Student-Run Free Clinic

INTRODUCTION

Student-run free clinics (SRFCs) have the capacity to decrease health care inequity in underserved populations. These facilities can benefit from improved patient experience and outcomes. We implemented a series of quality improvement interventions with the objectives to decrease patient wait times and to increase the variety of services provided.

METHODS

A needs assessment was performed. Problems related to time management, communication between staff and providers, clinic resources, and methods for assessing clinic performance were identified as targets to reduce wait times and improve the variety of services provided. Seventeen interventions were designed and implemented over a 2-month period.

RESULTS

The interventions resulted in improved efficiency for clinic operations and reduced patient wait times. The number of specialty providers, patient visits for specialty care, lifestyle education visits for disease prevention and treatment, free medications, and free laboratory investigations increased to achieve the goal of improving the availability and the variety of services provided.

CONCLUSIONS

We demonstrated that it is feasible to implement successful quality improvement interventions in SRFCs to decrease patient wait times and to increase the variety of services provided. We believe that the changes we implemented can serve as a model for other SRFCs to improve their performance.

Evaluation of demands, usage and unmet needs for emergency care in Yaoundé, Cameroon: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

To assess the burden of emergent illnesses and emergency care system usage by Yaoundé residents and to evaluate unmet needs for emergency care and associated barriers.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study using a community-based survey.

SETTING

Yaoundé, Cameroon.

PARTICIPANTS

All residents living in Yaoundé were selected as the target population to investigate the needs and usage of emergency care in Yaoundé. 14 households in every health area (47 in total) were selected using 2-stage sampling.

PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES

Unmet needs for emergency care.

RESULTS

Among the 3201 participants from 619 households who completed the survey, 1113 (34.8%) with median age of 22 experienced 1 or more emergency conditions in the previous year. Respondents who experienced emergency conditions used emergency units (7.0%), outpatient clinics (46.5%) or hospitalisation (13.0%), and in overall, 68.8% of them reported unmet needs for emergency care. The primary reasons for not seeking healthcare were economic issues (37.2%) and use of complementary medicine (22.2%). Young age (adjusted OR (95% CI) 1.80 (1.23 to 2.62)), rental housing (1.50 (1.11 to 2.03)) and moderate household income (0.60 (0.36 to 0.99)) were associated with unmet needs for emergency care.

CONCLUSIONS

Residents of Yaoundé had a high demand for emergency care, and high unmet needs were observed due to low emergency care usage. Development of a cost-effective, universal emergency care system is urgently needed in Cameroon.

Willingness of patients with diabetes to use an ICT-based self-management tool: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

To examine the prevalence of the willingness of patients with diabetes to use a self-management tool based on information and communication technology (ICT) such as personal computers, smartphones, and mobile phones; and to examine the patient characteristics associated with that willingness.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional interview survey of 312 adults with diabetes at a university hospital in an urban area in Japan. Participants were classified into 2 groups: those who were willing to use an ICT-based self-management tool and those who were unwilling. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with the willingness, including clinical and social factors, current use of ICT, self-management practices, self-efficacy, and diabetes-related emotional distress.

RESULTS

The mean age of the 312 participants was 66.3 years (SD=11.5) and 198 (63%) were male. Most of the participants (93%) had type 2 diabetes. Although only 51 (16%) currently used ICT-based self-management tools, a total of 157 (50%) expressed the willingness to use such a tool. Factors associated with the willingness included: not having nephropathy (OR=2.02, 95% CI 1.14 to 3.58); outpatient visits once a month or more (vs less than once a month, OR=2.13, 95% CI 1.13 to 3.99); current use of personal computers and/or smartphones (OR=4.91, 95% CI 2.69 to 8.98); and having greater diabetes-related emotional distress (OR=1.10, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.20).

CONCLUSIONS

Approximately half of the patients showed interest in using an ICT-based self-management tool. Willing patients may expect ICT-based self-management tools to complement outpatient visits and to make self-management easier. Starting with patients who display the willingness factors might optimize programs based on such tools.

Developing an evidence-based public health informatics course

OBJECTIVES

This study assessed the need to develop a public health informatics (PHI) introductory course and determine contents of such a course.

METHODS

Community assessments employing focus group interviews and an online survey were utilized to determine course need and content.

RESULTS

Results revealed a need to provide PHI training to graduate public health students and suggested broad course content requirements. Results indicated lack of awareness of libraries and librarians as sources of public health information.

CONCLUSIONS

A graduate PHI course was developed and delivered. Additionally, implementation of a subject guide increased the library's profile.

The Mental Health Education Gap among Primary Care Providers in Rural Nepal

OBJECTIVE

In low- and middle-income countries, the majority of individuals with mental illness go untreated largely because of a severe shortage of mental health professionals. Global initiatives to close the mental health treatment gap focus on primary care providers delivering this care. For this to be effective, primary care providers require the skills to assess, diagnose, and treat patients with mental illness.

METHODS

To assess primary care providers' training and experience in caring for mental health patients, the authors conducted five focus groups at three isolated district hospitals in rural Nepal where there was no access to mental health professionals.

RESULTS

Primary care providers reported limited training, lack of knowledge and skills, and discomfort in delivering mental health care.

CONCLUSION

To address the mental health education gap, primary care providers in Nepal, and perhaps other low- and middle-income countries, require more training during both undergraduate and graduate medical education.

What Do Patients Want? A Needs Assessment of Vulvodynia Patients Attending a Vulvar Diseases Clinic

INTRODUCTION

Vulvodynia is a chronic pain disorder that negatively impacts the quality of life of affected women.

AIM

The goal of this study was to identify unmet needs among localized provoked vulvodynia patients.

METHODS

A qualitative needs assessment was performed in a subspecialized vulvar clinic in a single academic institution in Canada. Semistructured interviews were conducted, recorded, and analyzed using the constant comparative method of grounded theory to identify common themes.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Interviews were conducted until theme saturation was achieved.

RESULTS

A diverse sample of 8 patients completed all components of the study. The most prominent unmet needs raised by patients in their interviews were categorized into 3 main themes: (1) challenges related to obtaining a diagnosis of vulvodynia and finding practitioners who are knowledgeable about vulvodynia; (2) challenges related to the current impact of the disease physically, emotionally, and in social relationships with patients' intimate partners; and (3) barriers to adherence with recommended therapy. Solutions recommended by patients include better education of physicians regarding vulvodynia and the development of multidisciplinary programs that provide access to physiotherapy, sex therapy, mindfulness and psychology services on-site, information classes for new patients, and the creation of peer support networks for patients and their partners.

CONCLUSION

A patient-focused needs assessment suggests optimal vulvodynia care requires better education of physicians and a multimodal approach to therapy, ideally with multiple services offered in 1 location.

Mining reflective continuing medical education data for family physician learning needs

A mixed methods research (sequential explanatory design) studied the potential of mining the data from the consumers of continuing medical education (CME) programs, for the developers of CME programs. The quantitative data generated by family physicians, through applying the information assessment method to CME content, was presented to key informants from the CME planning community through a qualitative description study.The data were revealed to have many potential applications including supporting the creation of CME content, CME program planning and personal learning portfolios.

Questionnaires Measuring Patients' Spiritual Needs: A Narrative Literature Review

CONTEXT

The objective of the present review was to collect published spiritual needs questionnaires and to present a clear image of the research condition of this domain.

EVIDENCE ACQUISITION

First, an electronic search was conducted with no limits on time span (until June 2015) or language in the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, Ovid, ProQuest and Google Scholar. All derivations of the keywords religion and spiritual alongside need and its synonyms were included in the search. Researches that introduced new tools was then selected and included in the study. Due to the limited quantity of questionnaires in this domain and with no consideration given to the existence or lack of exact standardization information, all of the questionnaires were included in the final report.

RESULTS

Eight questionnaires were found: patients spiritual needs assessment scale (PSNAS), spiritual needs inventory (SNI), spiritual interests related to illness tool (SpIRIT), spiritual needs questionnaire (SpNQ), spiritual needs assessment for patients (SNAP), spiritual needs scale (SNS), spiritual care needs inventory (SCNI), and spiritual needs questionnaire for palliative care.

CONCLUSIONS

These questionnaires have been designed from a limited medical perspective and often involve cultural concepts which complicate their cross-cultural applicability.

Physical activity for an ethnically diverse sample of endometrial cancer survivors: a needs assessment and pilot intervention

Objective

To determine the physical activity (PA) behavior, needs and preferences for underserved, ethnically diverse women with a history of endometrial cancer (EC).

Methods

Women with a history of EC (41 non-Hispanic black, 40 non-Hispanic white, and 18 Hispanic) completed a needs assessment during their regular follow-up appointments at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, NY, USA. An 8-week pilot PA intervention based on the results of the needs assessment was conducted with 5 EC survivors.

Results

Mean body mass index (BMI) among the 99 respondents was 34.1±7.6 kg/m², and 66% did not exercise regularly. Self-described weight status was significantly lower than actual BMI category (p<0.001). Of the 86% who were interested in joining an exercise program, 95% were willing to attend at least once weekly. The primary motivations were improving health, losing weight, and feeling better physically. Despite the high interest in participation, volunteer rate was very low (8%). However, adherence to the 8-week pilot PA intervention was high (83%), and there were no adverse events. Body weight decreased in all pilot participants.

Conclusion

These data show that ethnically diverse EC survivors have a great need for, and are highly interested in, PA interventions. However, greater care needs to be taken to assess and identify barriers to increase participation in such programs.

Needs assessment for master of nursing programmes among Bangladesh nurses

AIM

This study aimed to assess the intent to enrol in a master of nursing programme among Bangladesh nurses, identify preferred programme options and measure the association among intent to enrol in the programme, clinical competency and job satisfaction.

BACKGROUND

Personal and professional aspects of potential students pursuing graduate education are beneficial in devising educational strategies. However, considering the pressing needs for higher nursing education, there are no masters of nursing programmes in Bangladesh.

METHODS

This study used a descriptive correlational design. Nurses working in Bangladesh public sector were recruited to participate in a self-administered survey (n = 260). The questionnaire consisted of perception of job satisfaction, clinical competency and the need for educational options, including the intent to enrol in a master of nursing programme, preferred specialty area, curriculum content and career goals after graduation. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and point-biserial correlation.

RESULTS

Ninety per cent of the respondents reported that they intended to enrol in a master of nursing programme. Intention was significantly correlated with clinical competency but not with job satisfaction. The most preferred specialty areas were nursing management and education. Half of the respondents responded that teaching at nursing schools was a career goal after graduation.

DISCUSSION

The results of the needs assessment for the programme reflected the unique interest and priorities of the current status of Bangladesh.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicate a strong motivation to enrol in a master of nursing programme, confidence in clinical competence and high demand for programme in nursing management and education. These findings should be considered to design the programme in order to meet the interest of Bangladesh nurses.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND HEALTH POLICY

Educational needs assessments should take precedence to ensure the best possible educational outcome and to produce competent nurses who will contribute in achieving the Millennium Development Goals of Bangladesh.

Patient Accounting Systems: Are They Fit with the Users' Requirements?

Objectives

A patient accounting system is a subsystem of a hospital information system. This system like other information systems should be carefully designed to be able to meet users' requirements. The main aim of this research was to investigate users' requirements and to determine whether current patient accounting systems meet users' needs or not.

Methods

This was a survey study, and the participants were the users of six patient accounting systems used in 24 teaching hospitals. A stratified sampling method was used to select the participants (n = 216). The research instruments were a questionnaire and a checklist. The mean value of ≥3 showed the importance of each data element and the capability of the system.

Results

Generally, the findings showed that the current patient accounting systems had some weaknesses and were able to meet between 70% and 80% of users' requirements.

Conclusions

The current patient accounting systems need to be improved to be able to meet users' requirements. This approach can also help to provide hospitals with more usable and reliable financial information.

Emergency Nurses' Requirements for Disaster Preparedness

BACKGROUND

Natural and man-made disasters affect people, communities, and health systems. Nurses play a key role in the health system and must be prepared for appropriate response in disasters.

OBJECTIVES

This study was done to assess the current knowledge of nurses in emergency departments for disaster preparedness.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 110 emergency nurses working in teaching hospitals affiliated to Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. A questionnaire was used to collect data and the data were then analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics with SPSS software version 16.0.

RESULTS

Based on the findings, most of the participants (64.5%) were aged 30 - 39 years old. 84% of the cases were female and 97.3% had a bachelor's degree. The average perceived knowledge of nurses was 2.43 ± 1.01. The nurses had the highest familiarity with triage and lowest knowledge in epidemiology and decision-making.

CONCLUSIONS

Lack knowledge of nurses regarding response to disaster situations indicates inefficiencies in the current system. Therefore, it is recommended to organize more workshops, annual training courses, and maneuvers based on staff needs and formulate continuous education courses for nurses.

A National Faculty Development Needs Assessment in Emergency Medicine

OBJECTIVES

Emergency physicians who work in academic settings enjoy an expanding number of roles beyond that of the skilled clinician. Faculty development (FD) encompasses the broad range of activities that institutions use to renew skill-sets and assist faculty members in these multiple roles. This study seeks to define the current FD needs and interests of Canadian academic emergency physicians (AEPs).

METHODS

An online survey was administered to 943 AEPs in eight centers across Canada to determine their current FD activities, provide a detailed understanding of their FD needs and interests, elucidate the perceived barriers to and motivation for engaging in FD, and identify preferred methods of delivery for FD activities.

RESULTS

This national, cross-sectional survey was completed by 336 respondents. It shows that need for FD is universally high, particularly in traditional domains of scholarship, leadership and education (79%, 80%, 87% overall interest, respectively). However, the study also suggests that there is increasing need for FD in areas where current participation is lowest, namely research and social accountability (12% and 13% more interest, respectively). Senior and junior faculty evince equivalent overall FD interest (p>0.05), whereas female AEPs expressed greater overall FD needs in leadership (1.82 vs 1.44 activities, p=0.003) than males. Continued participation in FD activities is best promoted by offering relevant topics, at convenient times and locations.

CONCLUSIONS

This study reports the first comprehensive national FD needs assessment of Canadian academic emergency physicians.

A pilot randomised controlled trial of personalised care after treatment for prostate cancer (TOPCAT-P): nurse-led holistic-needs assessment and individualised psychoeducational intervention: study protocol

INTRODUCTION

Prostate cancer is common and the incidence is increasing, but more men are living longer after diagnosis, and die with their disease rather than of it. Nonetheless, specific and substantial physical, sexual, emotional and mental health problems often lead to a poor quality of life. Urology services increasingly struggle to cope with the demands of follow-up care, and primary care is likely to play the central role in long-term follow-up. The present phase II trial will evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a nurse-led, person-centred psychoeducational intervention, delivered in community or primary care settings.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

Prostate cancer survivors diagnosed in the past 9-48 months and currently biochemically stable will be identified from hospital records by their treating clinician. Eligible men would have either completed radical treatment, or would be followed up with prostate specific antigen monitoring and symptom reporting. We will recruit 120 patients who will be randomised to receive either an augmented form of usual care, or an additional nurse-led intervention for a period of 36 weeks. Following the health policy in Wales, the intervention is offered by a key worker, is promoting prudent healthcare and is using a holistic needs assessment. Outcome measures will assess physical symptoms, psychological well-being, confidence in managing own health and quality of life. Healthcare service use will be measured over 36 weeks. Feedback interviews with patients and clinicians will further inform the acceptability of the intervention. Recruitment, attrition, questionnaire completion rates and outcome measures variability will be assessed, and results will inform the design of a future phase III trial and accompanying economic evaluation.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethics approval was granted by Bangor University and North Wales REC (13/WA/0291). Results will be reported in peer-reviewed publications, at scientific conferences, and directly through national cancer and primary care networks.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

ISRCTN 34516019.

Needs assessments of memory disorder patients

BACKGROUND

Previous research shows that informal caregivers of individuals with a memory disorder experience financial strain, declining physical health, and psychological distress. Various resources and services have been developed to address and/or prevent these potential outcomes, yet caregivers continue to be negatively affected by the demands of caregiving. We hypothesize that better identification and clarification of concrete patient and caregiver needs will aid in the modification and improvement of the available resources. The purpose of this study is to determine the psychosocial needs of the cognitively impaired population and their caregivers.

METHODS

A one-page Needs Assessment was created to address areas of potential concern for the individual with a memory disorder and the caregiver. This assessment was administered during visits to an outpatient clinic in Philadelphia.

RESULTS

A total of 204 Needs Assessments were collected. The significant needs found in our study cohort include sleep, exercise, clinical trials, education, and assistance with ADLs and IADLs.

CONCLUSIONS

This study satisfied the initial identification of caregiver and patient needs; now each must be explored further to determine how to successfully meet such needs. If the primary needs of the patient can be met by a focused service, the caregiver will no longer be the sole provider of meeting the specific need. This will decrease the involved role of the caregiver, maximize patient homecare, minimize caregiver stress, and increase the quality of life for both the patient and caregiver.

The Domesticated Robot: Design Guidelines for Assisting Older Adults to Age in Place

Many older adults wish to remain in their own homes as they age [16]. However, challenges in performing home upkeep tasks threaten an older adult's ability to age in place. Even healthy independently living older adults experience challenges in maintaining their home [13]. Challenges with home tasks can be compensated through technology, such as home robots. However, for home robots to be adopted by older adult users, they must be designed to meet older adults' needs for assistance and the older users must be amenable to robot assistance for those needs. We conducted a needs assessment to (1) assess older adults' openness to assistance from robots; and (2) understand older adults' opinions about using an assistive robot to help around the home. We administered questionnaires and conducted structured group interviews with 21 independently living older adults (ages 65-93). The questionnaire data suggest that older adults prefer robot assistance for cleaning and fetching/organizing tasks overall. However their assistance preferences discriminated between tasks. The interview data provided insight as to why they hold such preferences. Older adults reported benefits of robot assistance (e.g., the robot compensating for limitations, saving them time and effort, completing undesirable tasks, and performing tasks at a high level of performance). Participants also reported concerns such as the robot damaging the environment, being unreliable at or incapable of doing a task, doing tasks the older adult would rather do, or taking up too much space/storage. These data, along with specific comments from participant interviews, provide the basis for preliminary recommendations for designing mobile manipulator robots to support aging in place.