UK-India workshop on affordable assisted living technologies for elderly

Readers of my previous blog might recall that I had mentioned about a follow-up activity that I was working on to bring together UK and Indian experts interested in assisted living technologies (ALTs) for the elderly. I’m pleased to say that we did run a successful event at IISc Bangalore on 19 November. This was a first of its kind workshop that we had ever put together; so it did leave behind loads of after thoughts and learnings, some of which I thought I’d share with you here.

Ours was a one-day workshop which ran in the margins of the 3rd International Conference on Gerontology and Geriatrics, organised by Bio-genesis. From the UK, we had experts from the University of Sheffield, University of Bristol and University of Swansea while participation from India included Heritage Foundation India Hyderabad, ISEC Bangalore, AIIMS New Delhi, Motivation Innovation, St John’s National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore University, Nightingales Medical Trust, Silver Innings and other entrepreneurs and consultants. We also celebrated the fact that we had a senior citizen amongst us- Dr M Mukunda Rao, a former faculty member at IIT Madras. His zeal and enthusiasm on the topic was much appreciated. 

ALTs for the elderly might be in its infancy in India at the moment, but is also one of the areas that is evolving and one that will present a whole range of opportunities in the near future. With a population as diverse and complex as India’s, compartmentalising the settings where these technologies would be used, who would be the primary users in that particular settings, etc. would be of tremendous help while developing a framework plan in this area.  The concept of ‘one size fits all’ certainly cannot be applied in this context. One will need to identify which patient groups need it and also if they are happy to take up the usage of that particular technology.

Commercial benefits are aplenty, but it was emphasised that it is very crucial for technology developers to keep older people in mind while designing and developing technologies.  Elderly people are a very important group of stakeholders and everything developed should essentially gravitate around their needs. Both the UK and India have a similar scenario with regard to a growing burden of chronic diseases and a growing trend in the use of technologies such as mobiles and smart phones. A recent report stated that India had added more than 200 million smart phone users in 2014. This correlation between the rise in both- chronic diseases and usage of smart phone technology, made me wonder if this could be something that could be explored for potential collaborative partnerships. While the UK’s experience seems to be more applicable to the urban population in India, the potential of reaching out to the rural population cannot be ignored.

The workshop concluded with a panel discussion wherein ideas were bounced around on potential themes for UK-India partnerships within the ALTs.  The general view of all the participants had one resounding thought – there is lot that can be achieved if the UK and India could work together in this area and develop technologies that have real world applications for the elderly.

I am now working towards putting together a short summary report on the workshop, which I’m sure will be useful to interested stakeholders looking at developing UK-India partnerships in this very promising area in the near future.