The Importance of Exposure to Robotics and Its Future for Nursing Education

Marta Romeo; Alessandra Bossoni; Daniel Hernandez Garcia; Matthew Forsyth; Catherine Mahoney; Martina Fiori

doi:10.1145/3776734.3794415

The Importance of Exposure to Robotics and Its Future for Nursing Education

Marta Romeo^*
, Alessandra Bossoni
, Daniel Hernandez Garcia
, Matthew Forsyth
, Catherine Mahoney
, Martina Fiori^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

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Abstract

The integration of digital health technologies, including robotics, is transforming healthcare environments and offering significant benefits, such as reducing the time professionals spend on non-direct patient care. However, despite these advantages, the adoption of robotic systems in healthcare remains limited. A major barrier is the lack of competencies and confidence among healthcare staff in using these technologies. We address this challenge by investigating how exposure to robotics technology can support the education of the future nursing workforce. By exploring nursing students' and educators' perceptions of usability and acceptability of robotics through a workshop, this study aims to investigate the effectiveness of exposing them to robotic technologies in a safe, simulated environment to start identifying how beneficial exposure for learning could be integrated into education priorities that will enable nurses to work effectively and sustainably alongside robotic systems.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Companion Proceedings of the 21st ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI Companion ’26)
Publisher	Association for Computing Machinery
Pages	356-360
Number of pages	5
ISBN (Electronic)	9798400723216
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3776734.3794415
Publication status	Published - 16 Mar 2026
Event	21st ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction 2026 - Edinburgh, United Kingdom Duration: 16 Mar 2026 → 19 Mar 2026 https://humanrobotinteraction.org/2026/

Conference

Conference	21st ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction 2026
Abbreviated title	HRI 2026
Country/Territory	United Kingdom
City	Edinburgh
Period	16/03/26 → 19/03/26
Internet address	https://humanrobotinteraction.org/2026/

Keywords

Digital literacy
Robots in Nursing
Participatory Design
Socially Assistive Robots

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10.1145/3776734.3794415Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

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Romeo, M., Bossoni, A., Hernandez Garcia, D., Forsyth, M., Mahoney, C., & Fiori, M. (2026). The Importance of Exposure to Robotics and Its Future for Nursing Education. In Companion Proceedings of the 21st ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI Companion ’26) (pp. 356-360). Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/3776734.3794415

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abstract = "The integration of digital health technologies, including robotics, is transforming healthcare environments and offering significant benefits, such as reducing the time professionals spend on non-direct patient care. However, despite these advantages, the adoption of robotic systems in healthcare remains limited. A major barrier is the lack of competencies and confidence among healthcare staff in using these technologies. We address this challenge by investigating how exposure to robotics technology can support the education of the future nursing workforce. By exploring nursing students' and educators' perceptions of usability and acceptability of robotics through a workshop, this study aims to investigate the effectiveness of exposing them to robotic technologies in a safe, simulated environment to start identifying how beneficial exposure for learning could be integrated into education priorities that will enable nurses to work effectively and sustainably alongside robotic systems.",

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Romeo, M, Bossoni, A, Hernandez Garcia, D, Forsyth, M, Mahoney, C & Fiori, M 2026, The Importance of Exposure to Robotics and Its Future for Nursing Education. in Companion Proceedings of the 21st ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI Companion ’26). Association for Computing Machinery, pp. 356-360, 21st ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction 2026, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, 16/03/26. https://doi.org/10.1145/3776734.3794415

The Importance of Exposure to Robotics and Its Future for Nursing Education. / Romeo, Marta; Bossoni, Alessandra; Hernandez Garcia, Daniel et al.
Companion Proceedings of the 21st ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI Companion ’26). Association for Computing Machinery, 2026. p. 356-360.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

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T1 - The Importance of Exposure to Robotics and Its Future for Nursing Education

AU - Romeo, Marta

AU - Bossoni, Alessandra

AU - Hernandez Garcia, Daniel

AU - Forsyth, Matthew

AU - Mahoney, Catherine

AU - Fiori, Martina

PY - 2026/3/16

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The Importance of Exposure to Robotics and Its Future for Nursing Education

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