According to Statistics Denmark1, the number of elderlies will grow considerably over the next ten years. The number of people aged 80 years is expected to grow by 150,000 persons over the next ten years, whereas the group of people aged between 65-79 will have grown by 58,000 persons by 2028. If you look further into the future, one in ten inhabitants is expected to have reached the age of 80 in 2053.
Increasing demand for medical care
The ageing populations challenge our healthcare systems. As ageing affects the human body, an increasing number of people will come to require medical care. Unfortunately, the number of young people is not growing as fast as the number of elderlies. Therefore, healthcare staff will fall short in numbers – unable to assist the large group of ageing people in society. This means that new applications and new technology will become essential factors if everybody is to continue receiving the proper care and attention.
New types of care
Fortunately, many organisations focus on the development of new products to assist the elderly and to ease the work for healthcare staff. However, this will not mean less care! On the contrary, the care will just be performed differently. More assistive devices will prompt a higher level of efficiency for healthcare staff and give rise to more independent and self-sufficient elderly residents.
As mentioned in the description of trend no. 2, 'dignity and independence' are also becoming more important. Elderlies prefer to stay independent and remain in their own home for as long as possible. They are willing to invest in assistive devices that make them require less assistance from the healthcare staff.
Data offers valuable insights
One of the technologies that can make a difference in helping the large group of elderlies is the ‘Internet of Things’ (trend no. 1). By connecting the healthcare applications to the Internet, it is, for instance, possible to collect data on patient conditions or an application's service status. In this way, the necessary care can be efficiently planned, and assistive devices can be serviced before they break.
LINAK cooperates with several of the companies that develop innovative and useful products for the elderly. We have also developed a data-collecting tool to be used with various healthcare products to make the care more efficient.
1) Danish governmental organisation under the Ministry for Economic and Interior Affairs
