Technology could transform care of city's expanding elderly population

    Updated: 2017-11-06 06:44

    (HK Edition)

      Print Mail Large Medium  Small 分享按鈕 0

    Hong Kong is facing many issues and the ones affecting people's livelihoods most are not hard to identify - shortage of housing and a fast-aging population. The government's latest population projection suggested one in three people will be aged over 65 by 2066. The aging problem is aggravated by ever-declining fertility and a shrinking labor force. You don't need to be an expert to figure that out. In fact, a stroll through the hustle and bustle on any Hong Kong street will give you a fairly clear picture. It's very hard to overlook a cohort of gray-haired folk, who either stagger alone with a cane or are wheeled by their helpers; and you need not be surprised even to see some of them carrying backpacks and heading for work. Hong Kong is definitely not the only place facing such challenges. But it is, without any doubt, not the most proactive one, for sure, in terms of coping with the challenge.

    Whenever mankind suffered a crisis or achieved a great thing in human history, it was always technology that came to its aid. Yes, it is a bit of a truism that technology is going to change the future. But problems brought by an aging population, coupled with limited living space, a shrinking labor force and a tight labor import policy indeed call for measures to rekindle hope. We have a perfect example in our neighbors to learn from. Japan faces similar challenges and has pioneered technologies to mitigate the issues. Japan is considered a super-aged society, with more than 25 percent of its population aged over 65, a ratio higher than any other country's. Consequently, Japan has managed to develop its elderly care services into a fully fledged industry which has emerged as one of its newly found engines for economic growth. Signs of extensive use of technology in the country's senior-care industry include widespread deployment of "carebots" - robots that feature artificial intelligence capabilities such as voice recognition - to serve those who need nursing care or rehabilitation. Our economic arch-rival Singapore has also joined the ranks of countries that use AI to serve the elderly. And AI research and applications in the senior-care industry on the Chinese mainland are also booming.

    Japan-made elderly care products are now sold globally as the world is awed by the Japanese thoughtfulness in developing various technologies that perfectly fit the needs of elderly care.

    Technology could transform care of city's expanding elderly population

    To tackle its labor shortage, the Japanese government has not only decided to raise its retirement age to 65, but also encourages its less-old citizen to keep working, especially in trades related to elderly care, such as at nursing homes. You will easily find people aged over 65 working in Japan's nursing homes, caring for those who are much older. All this is made possible with more high-tech being deployed in elderly care homes. Innovative technological support means elderly care workers no longer have to be strong and young.

    The Hong Kong government has finally come to its senses and realized "aging in place" (or aging at home) can be a way out. But before that could be realized, it has earmarked HK$1 billion in funds for the city's nursing homes to buy cutting-edge technologies to upgrade themselves and improve efficiency. The government's initiative would surely bring a new breeze in the industry but still it needs to take a lead by starting to use high-tech facilities in the public nursing homes.

    Some of the city's nursing homes already use state-of-the-art technology to increase efficiency. They use alarm systems to monitor the diapers of the bed-ridden elderly and increase the efficiency of their staff. Some also offer elderly shoes with tracking chips to locate their dementia-suffering residents. Taking a shower can also be tricky for the elderly; some homes have showering machines that let seniors sit in the middle, while sprinklers on both sides supply water.

    But such facilities are still not common in the city. Nursing homes still send out a gloomy, smothering message. Whereas in Japan, nursing homes are more like hotels or a health resorts where staff are nice and rooms are clean and bright.

    Hong Kong should follow the example of the rest of world in tackling the graying population proactively. Technology can not only relieve the workload of caretakers but also transform nursing homes. The old image of nursing homes should be thrown away as technology comes into play.

    (HK Edition 11/06/2017 page10)

     

    精品无码专区亚洲| 公和熄小婷乱中文字幕| 亚洲欧美日韩在线中文字幕| 无码人妻视频一区二区三区| 亚洲乱码中文字幕综合| 丰满白嫩人妻中出无码| 亚洲av无码av制服另类专区| 日本精品自产拍在线观看中文| 亚洲äv永久无码精品天堂久久| 久久AV无码精品人妻糸列| 色综合久久中文字幕无码| 国产a v无码专区亚洲av| 无码乱人伦一区二区亚洲一| 国产日韩AV免费无码一区二区| 日韩中文字幕在线观看| 中文字幕人妻无码一区二区三区| 国产∨亚洲V天堂无码久久久| 伊人久久精品无码二区麻豆| 中文字幕亚洲一区二区va在线| 狠狠躁夜夜躁无码中文字幕 | 天堂资源8中文最新版| 亚洲AV无码专区日韩| 欧洲精品久久久av无码电影 | 精品亚洲成α人无码成α在线观看| 亚洲精品无码久久久久sm| 中文字幕精品一区| 最近最好最新2019中文字幕免费| 亚洲中文字幕在线第六区| 无码任你躁久久久久久| 亚洲?V无码乱码国产精品| 久久久久亚洲AV无码专区网站| 国产免费无码一区二区| 国产拍拍拍无码视频免费| 久久久久久亚洲Av无码精品专口 | 亚洲日韩精品无码一区二区三区 | 国产亚洲大尺度无码无码专线 | 天堂在线观看中文字幕| 最近中文字幕2019高清免费| 精品久久久久久无码中文字幕一区 | 中文一国产一无码一日韩| 一本一道精品欧美中文字幕 |