Technology harnessed for solutions to caring for seniors

Singapore

TECHNOLOGY-based solutions were coralled by the finalists of a competition aimed at coming up with solutions to meet the needs of Singapore seniors and their caregivers.

The social innovation initiative, called LeapForGood (LFG), was spearheaded by the Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise (raiSE). Five teams out of the 11 finalists clinched grants of up to S$100,000 each to kick-start their social enterprises targeted at the growing health care and daily-living needs of Singapore's growing army of seniors.

At the "Demo Day" on Aug 18, the teams employed technology or digital competencies as a medium to innovate. Solutions varied from motorised attachments to integrated digital ecosystems.

The innovators also developed solutions to help caregivers and seniors keep up with the digital trend.

Senior Minister of State for Health Amy Khor had mentioned at the Caregiver Symposium in February that caregiving will grow in tandem with Singapore's ageing population.

One in four Singaporeans will be aged 65 and above by 2030, and with the country's ageing population and many seniors aspiring to live and age at home, more Singaporeans will take on the role of caregivers.

Of the 11 LFG finalists, six focused on meeting seniors' needs, one specifically targeted caregivers, and four addressed the needs of both seniors and caregivers.

Alfie Othman, chief executive officer of raiSE, said: "We are very encouraged by the diverse technology-based ideas that have evolved during this year's LeapForGood programme because it reflects the growing dedication the community has to solving emerging needs, and the importance of deriving more targeted solutions.

"Going beyond cookie-cutter ideas, the winners were able to home in on various aspects of physical, mental and emotional needs of seniors and caregivers to develop innovative solutions."

One of the winning teams, Xiohoo, came up with a programme to help seniors learn technology better and more easily through workshops and an app platform that connects them to community experts for help.

Through working with senior citizens, the team behind Xiohoo uncovered some issues seniors face when they try to use social media, for example.

Team member Allan Tay, an IT trainer for seniors, said: "I noticed that there are always students coming back to me for training, some returning after six years. It's because they need more support to help them learn better.

"Through Xiohoo, we want seniors to learn and apply the knowledge, be more active on social media, share updates with their friends and family, find work more easily, and build their level of confidence."

Xiohoo was also one of the three winners of the LFG Hackathon in April 2018, where the team received S$2,000 to prototype their solution.

Lim Chiong, a grandfather in his mid-60s, dropped in on Demo Day and tried out a prototype of a chair designed by another award winning team, Emo Health.

The prototype is an automated weight monitoring solution embedded into patients' own bed and chair, using IoT technology and analytics to provide the caregiver with tailored insights, thus facilitating early diagnosis and treatment of underlying health conditions.

Mr Lim said: "It is very practical, safe and convenient to use. I do not need to worry about balancing or falling. Most importantly, it gives me and my loved ones the peace of mind that my health is being monitored. The automatic alerts are helpful for the caregiver and medical providers, so that pre-emptive actions can be taken if necessary."