Written by Tom Chiodo Contributor Developing documentaries & special projects for public media.
Capital Caring Health
As millions of older adults across the United States continue to experience loneliness and social isolation, non-profit organizations like Capital Caring Health in Washington, D.C. are turning to robotic pets as a low-cost, high-impact solution. Over the past 4 years, Capital Caring has donated thousands of robotic pets to older adults locally, regionally, and nationally, offering a potential, scalable solution to the nation’s loneliness epidemic.
The Loneliness Epidemic
Loneliness affects people of all ages, but older adults are especially vulnerable to social exclusion, increasing their risk for poor mental and physical health outcomes. The 2024 National Poll on Aging from the University of Michigan found that nearly one in three adults (33%) ages 50 to 80 reported feeling lonely, and 29% reported feeling socially isolated. The National Poll specifies that older adults who do not work and those with fair or poor health are more likely to experience loneliness and social isolation than their more active peers. There is a strong, positive correlation between social interaction and health, and this link becomes more pronounced with age. According to the National Institute on Aging, older individuals who feel lonely or socially isolated are at a higher risk of developing depression, anxiety, heart disease, or dementia.
Robotic Companions – A Low-Cost, High-Impact Solution
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers, clinicians, and community organizers have made social support services for seniors a top priority, leading to the creation of innovative solutions like robotic pets. Initially, these animatronic companions for adults were developed for use in therapeutic and clinical environments as a treatment for dementia-related symptoms. The research into animatronic pets for dementia therapy is robust and the results are overwhelmingly positive. For example, a review of 51 studies found that robotic animal interventions contributed to improved behavioral and psychological outcomes for many individuals with dementia.
Robotic pets provide comfort for people with mid- to late-stage dementia, who can become angry, agitated, and even violent. Animatronic animals respond to sight, sound, and touch like a real pet, but unlike real animals, they don’t need to be fed, walked, or bathed. Instead, robopets are battery-operated and use built-in AI to respond to interactions with their owner: the more a person interacts with their robotic companion, the more their pet will respond to them.
The Future of Care, and Comfort, for Seniors
Beginning in 2021, Capital Caring Health, a non-profit hospice and palliative care provider, partnered with Ageless Innovation, a company that designs games and products for older adults, to bring animatronic pets to seniors free of charge, thanks to donations from community members. Capital Caring first distributed robotic companions to individuals diagnosed with dementia, but expanded their reach to include elders living alone, and experiencing social isolation, based on the success of a similar program created by the New York State Office on Aging. “For people 65 and over, usually living by themselves, and suffering from severe depression, we have seen remarkable results by providing them with a robotic dog or cat,” affirms Steve Cone, Chief of Communications, Marketing and Philanthropy at Capital Caring. Since the launch of their program, Capital Caring has donated 5,000 robotic pets to older adults in the D.C. region, and across the country. In 2024, they provided six pets to each of the 300 long-term care centers for veterans nationwide.
Robotic pets can benefit caregivers as well as care recipients. Researchers at Old Dominion University found that the presence of robotic pets improved caregivers’ relationships with their care recipient by fostering meaningful conversations between them. In some cases, robopets can help caregivers feel hopeful, and less helpless. “When the patient has one of the robotic pets, they are perfectly happy to be left alone for a while with their pet, and the caregiver can take a break,” shares Cone, “Everybody wins.”
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About the Author
Forbes
Tom Chiodo Executive producer Special Projects, National Productions at WETA, flagship PBS station in Washington D.C., developing primetime documentary films and original digital content, accompanied by national impact and engagement campaigns, for 330+ PBS stations. Recent projects include: Ken Burns presents Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness (2022); and Emmy-nominated documentary The Gene: An Intimate History (2020). More than 30 years experience in media, communications, television, and entertainment industry. Senior positions at Entertainment Industry Foundation, Rubenstein Associates, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Co-author “Home Care for Respirator Dependent Children” New England Journal of Medicine. Contributing writer Forbes.com. 2023 judge for National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences News & Documentary Emmy Awards.
The Well Beings Blog supports the critical health and wellbeing of all individuals, to raise awareness, reduce stigma and discrimination, and change the public discourse. The Well Beings campaign was launched in 2020 with the Youth Mental Health Project, followed by the 2022 documentary series Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness (Now streaming on the PBS App), and the upcoming 2025 series, Hiding in Plain Sight: Adult Mental Illness, produced and directed by Ewers Brothers Productions, executive produced by Ken Burns, and presented by WETA, the PBS flagship station in our nation’s capital.
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