The use of social robots in elderly care offers potential solutions for improving the quality of life for older adults and alleviating the burden on nursing homes caused by demographic shifts and workforce shortages. However, their successful deployment is hindered by a significant trust gap among stakeholders that influences their willingness to accept and use these technologies.

This research combined Design Science Research with Value Sensitive Design to develop design requirements for trustworthy social robots in elderly care. The iterative process was informed by interviews (n=7) and a survey of stakeholders (n=121) in Germany and Switzerland.

This research proposes a set of eight essential design requirements for embedding trust in social robots for elderly care, developed and prioritized with direct stakeholder input. While further context-specific validation is encouraged, these requirements represent a substantive step forward in understanding and designing for trustworthy human-robot interaction in elderly care settings.