Technology application in elderly housing to achieve "ageing in place" in Hong Kong

Abstract

The ageing population has been increasing worldwide. The associated problems of the ageing population are becoming critical. Ageing in Place (AIP) is a good choice for elderly, who can live in familiar environment with security, happiness and dignity. There are many problems for implementing AIP. The problems are associated with elderly, caregivers and governmental support. There are two objectives of this dissertation –(1) explore the problems of elderly and caregivers for AIP, and (2) how to apply technologies to support AIP, which eventually would help both elderly and caregivers to adopt AIP instead of staying in nursing centers. A questionnaire survey has been conducted for collecting data regarding AIP. Upon analysis of the data collected, problems of elderly, caregivers and the appropriateness and effectiveness of the governmental support for AIP would be revealed and clarified. The findings of this study showed that most respondents agreed that elderly should choose AIP rather than nursing centers and that technology can help both elderly and caregivers. It has been shown that the government should play a more active role to encourage adopting AIP and enhance technology to support AIP.