Inclusive care design: un sistema di servizio sanitario intelligente per l’assistenza agli anziani

The world’s ageing population has become a pressing issue. The percentage of elderly population in many nations is increasing and the demand and costs of healthcare services rise with age. Healthcare service resources for the elderly in many countries are now inadequate to deal with the services’ complexity. Governments are actively pushing the development of healthcare service systems to alleviate this pressure, and smart healthcare service systems are emerging as a future trend. In the digital age, many offline services have been transformed into online services. For the elderly, interaction with digital technology and platforms has been unavoidable. Moreover, the lockdown measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic have accelerated the development of digital healthcare services. Medical institutions’ efficiency in providing healthcare services has improved due to the widespread usage of digital platforms. Although digital services bring numerous advantages, they also introduce new issues, such as the digital divide. Because the elderly often lack digital skills and understanding of how to use digital platforms, accessing healthcare services provided by these platforms is frequently difficult for them. Design and technology can help people bridge the gap between their digital capability and physical ability. My doctoral research is based on the development trend of the healthcare service system, starting from population ageing and healthcare services. With methods and tools provided by ergonomics and service design, it investigates the challenges faced by the elderly and their healthcare service demands, reflects on the relationship between ageing and digital technology, and proposes a research hypothesis. Through investigation and case studies, I developed a design guideline that can help digital healthcare service platforms to become more age-friendly so that older people can benefit from the services and convenience that digital platforms provide. My research aims to enable the elderly to enjoy a safer, more comfortable, healthier and happier retirement life. The output could help them improve their experience while using digital healthcare service platforms. All elderly people can have more opportunities to access digital healthcare services without discrimination or digital barriers.