Singapore
is among the world’s fastest ageing country. Due to the increasing longevity
and declining birth rates, it is projected that by 2030, the number of elderly
citizens will be tripled to almost one in five Singaporean residents over the
age of 65. This huge expansion in the population of older adults’ reflect an increasing
strain on the current institution-centric eldercare system and society. Health
expenses due to age-related diseases are expected to increase with the
expanding population of older adults, while economic productivity is predicted
to experience a downturn due to decreasing labour pool. There is, hence, an
exigency in making efforts to develop a set of strategies that will advance the
development, acceptance and adoption of technologies that enhance the
independence, health and quality of life of the growing older population.
To address
the issue, NTU has established a University-level Institute, Ageing Research Institute for Society and Education (ARISE), to support
multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary ageing-related research, programmes and
activities. ARISE primarily focuses on (i) Ageing Medicine; (ii) Social
Integration and Education; (iii) Ageing-in-Place; and (iv) Care & Lifestyle
Enhancement. ARISE’s role is to act as a strategic functioning body that
co-ordinates to engage and integrate the efforts of the research institutes,
centres, colleges and schools across NTU that focuses on ageing population.
Ageing
issues in Singapore raise serious concerns about long-term care, health care social
security, pensions, and family systems. Promises of new age technologies as
possible resources to improve eldercare quality and outcomes have been
postulated. In recent years, we witness a growing number of assistive technologies
and information and communication technologies (ICTs) being developed to improve
quality of life, extend length of community residence, improve physical and
mental acuity, delay the onset of serious health problems and reduce family and
care-giver burden. In today’s world, home
automation, telehealth services, and ‘ambient intelligence’ are increasingly
becoming tools to support and monitor older adults with or without cognitive
impairments, by improving their sense of safety and security as a means to
support ageing-in-place
Until
recently, many traditional assumptions associated with ageing and eldercare
often cast older adults in a more passive role, not a proactive one. For a
variety of economic, sociological, and technological reasons, this paradigm is
now shifting. Technologies are providing older adults with an interactive
lifeline to the world, empowering them to live more robust, healthful, and
independent lives. Along with various medical science, social and health
economics research projects on ageing, ARISE has a vision to encourage and
support smart ageing in the Singapore population. ARISE has undertaken projects
on new technologies which focus on personal safety and active life solutions
especially for older people and ultimately the outcomes of these projects to
add quality life to older adults.