Aged care takes lead on Intergenerational Report
Peak aged care body, Leading Age Services Australia (LASA), has partnered with other key innovation organisations to develop and deliver InnovAGE, an event bringing together software developers, designers, engineers, and many others, to make positive in-roads into how care and services can be transformed using fresh eyes on the problems.
Peak aged care body, Leading Age Services Australia (LASA), aims to make positive in-roads into how care and services can be transformed using fresh eyes on the problems.
Yesterday, on the eve of the release of the Intergenerational Report (IGR), LASA took steps to tackle one of the IGR’s primary driving forces – the largest demographic, economic and social change the western world has ever seen – caring for our ageing population.
Data analysts, architects, marketers, students from an array of fields, business experts and innovative entrepreneurs will also be part of LASA's InnovAGE event.
Patrick Reid, LASA chief executive, claims the challenges and opportunities of Australians living longer looms.
“Innovative technology and edge thinking is central to helping Australians live well. There is much talk from politicians regarding the positive testimony of living longer and very little practical action to ensure we can meet future demand,” Mr Reid says.
InnovAGE will bring together the brightest and best minds to analyse big data, design built environments, construct prototypes, code apps and create products to “make positive in-roads into how care and services can be transformed using fresh eyes on the problems”.
Attendees will be encouraged to look at areas of untapped opportunity in aged care such as social and mobile data, the Internet, and the use of sensors, wearable technology, 3D printing and environmental design. There is also the opportunity for products to launch at the event.
An example of a recent innovation in the ageing space is the work of Opaque Multimedia who will attend InnovAGE and have used gaming technology to develop a therapeutic sensory forest for those living with dementia, known as the Virtual Dementia Environment (VDE).
Norman Wang of Opaque Multimedia, says projects like the VDE shows how something that has been done a particular way for decades can be transformed by embracing new technologies – “a way of thinking we advocate, and a way of thinking events like innovAGE fosters”.
Over the course of two weekends, InnovAGE will challenge teams’ entrepreneurial thinking to develop, build or launch age related solutions.
The IGR, looking at population and budget projections to 2055, will today be released by Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey.
