Table 4.

Findings on the experiences of how the persons experienced the interaction with LOVOT along with quotations from focus groups (FGs) with health care professionals from the nursing homes.

Theme/category	Illustrative quotation
Diverts and is calming	“This weekend, he also had a period where he wanted to go home, and during the shift change, I used LOVOT to calm him down.” (FG 1)
Opens up communication and interaction	“When LOVOT is there, she smiles and is happy. She speaks more with the other [older] persons. She’s someone who doesn’t say much.” (FG 1)
Provides entertainment	“They are fun to watch, both individually and together.” (FG 1)
Creates a breathing space	“LOVOT has given her a boost, a breathing space, where there is just something positive in her everyday life.” (FG 1)
Is accepted and creates feelings of happiness	“When she got LOVOT up in her hand, she started crying because she was so happy...it evoked feelings of happiness. She was moved to tears, absolutely.” (FG 1)
Induces feelings of care	“She has stepped into a mother role. She was one of the first ones we noticed who started treating it like a child. She sits and rocks it...She sits and rocks her leg just like you do with an infant or at least a little baby. She really just wants to sit with it and then just have that feeling.” (FG 2)
Can create an overstimulation of feelings	“He was quickly taken away because he reacted violently after being with LOVOT.” (FG 2)
Is not accepted	“She was not really able to relate to LOVOT. She has had other things in mind. She cannot find peace with it. She can just look at it and say, ‘Yes,’ but she has something else going on. So it has not had any positive effect on her either.” (FG 2)
Is perceived as an animal	“But she clearly sees it as something animal, because she is very fond of dogs, so she almost claps her hands when they come.” (FG 1)
Is perceived as being nondemanding	“But she has also always talked to it as if it were a person who was with her and has meant a lot. I don’t know whether a person with dementia can relate more to such a thing compared to us humans, because we demand something, I don’t know if they have that feeling. Because LOVOT demands nothing, [like] a dog, other than to be petted. The rest of us always demand something.” (FG 3)
Prevents “skin hunger”	“But we talked a little about touch deprivation...She sat with [LOVOT] on the sofa, where it sat up next to her, and she sat like that and cuddled it. She has received the warmth from LOVOT and the sounds. It can stimulate something in relation to skin hunger when she does not have much contact and touch with others.” (FG 2)