We’re getting older. Every country in the world is experiencing growth in both the number of, and proportion of, older people in their population.
In Japan, the chronic decline in birth rate has created a huge economic challenge that the country is struggling to address. In China, the one-child policy of the late 20th Century has created a generation of single children who are now grown up and need to support two ageing parents. In many parts of the world, similar demographic shifts are demanding new product and service solutions to address changing societal structures.
A global ageing population is one of the reasons that we are seeing immense strain put on healthcare services and staff across many parts of the world. In the UK, horror stories continue to surface of the fallout of increased demand for beds in hospitals, fuelled by a lack of at-home care resources and a shrinking social care workforce – and we are not alone.
So what can we, as designers and changemakers, do?
Empowering individuals
By 2030, the WHO estimates that there will be a global shortage of approximately 18 million health workers leaving huge gaps in resource. Using AI to diagnose early, proactively manage and tailor treatment of medical conditions we can disrupt the under-resourced healthcare systems by putting the power in the patient’s own hands. Tech savvy, our older generations are increasingly comfortable using advanced tech. However, for us all to capitalise on this tech, it is vital that representative data sets underpin AI solutions, designing out bias and enabling both the young and old to benefit from this technology.
Balancing needs
Digital solutions are often heralded as a solution to problems big and small. Whilst we also believe digital tools, smart tech and tele-med services have a big role to play in a future, more effective healthcare system, we must not minimise the importance of listening to both the end user, and the key stakeholders needs when designing these solutions. Ageist assumptions and biases can creep in when designing tech first solutions for older generations – research prevents that. Pragmatic insight application is vital to design the right solution for the user that is set up for commercial success. Ensuring safety, satisfaction, engagement and market competitiveness will ultimately improve health outcomes.
KD worked with the University of Cardiff to develop a drum training app to help improve the neural health of people with Huntington’s Disease. Working directly with patients was key to it’s success.
End-to-end experience
Too often, digital experiences are considered in isolation. In the healthcare space, when we consider the end-to-end experience of digital experiences , we can drive the delivery of high-quality care, improving patient satisfaction, fostering engagement, and leveraging technology to its full potential. By taking this approach, and importantly, considering any physical or cognitive characteristics at play, healthcare services and digital health platforms can identify areas of improvement, develop user-centric solutions, and promote a seamless and patient-centred healthcare journey.
These three considerations are all key for businesses and organisations to consider when thinking about designing to address our ageing population. While technology has the potential to successfully address a lot of our social and ageing needs, it’s vital to maintain a focus on human care, using our human values to drive our technological needs, and measuring our impact by societal success.
Our Research & Strategy team are experts in discovering opportunities for clients to improve lives for users now and in the future. Find out more by contacting our Head of Research & Strategy, Lucy Baldwin, through the link below.
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