China focuses on technology to solve a familiar aged care problem

On local shores, Australia is preparing for the increased challenge of an ageing population that will place extra pressure on an already stretched aged care system. But we’re certainly not the only ones experiencing this problem; China is too on a far grander scale.

Statistics show that China’s population is ageing faster than just about any other country in modern history. By 2050, it’s projected that 39% of its 1.3 billion strong population will be older than the retirement age. 

Yet unlike decades gone by, China’s population is shrinking after 60 years of consistent growth. This is largely due to 30+ years of the now obsolete One-child policy that has resulted in fewer adult children to look after ageing parents. 

So what are they doing to prepare for a projected aged care labour shortage combined with a smaller informal carer cohort?

Just like Australia, China is embracing technology. A recent industry fair in Shanghai showcased a vast array of technologies, including internet-connected sleep monitors, robotic arms, calorie-counting plates and physiotherapy robots. 

While we typically look at technology as an aid or tool to help provide care, Chinese companies have designed these technologies to fill workforce gaps and take on tasks that simply don’t have people available to complete them. 

Of course, some technologies have been designed to perform manual labour; an automated stair-climbing machine and machines designed to lift people from their beds and into wheelchairs. Many local providers would be interested in tools that reduce staff physical burden.

Then you have the smart devices built into wheelchairs and beds, which a 64-year-old Yu told AFP he has already purchased for family members as “There are fewer and fewer young people, and more and more old people, so these smart products can provide better services for older people”.

One of the stalls at the Shanghai event was run by a Chinese-based company, Innopro. There, they showcased smart watches, motion detectors and temperature monitors not dissimilar to sensors previously highlighted by hello leaders. 

Staff reportedly promote “constant surveillance of their elders” in home care settings to help out busy families, while saving costs for care providers. 

“For institutions, they hope to save on labour costs because they usually need to conduct checks every night,” Jin Guohui told AFP.

“This device can reduce their work,” Jin said, showing off a small, SIM card-equipped white box that monitored sleeping patterns and signs of life.

Other innovative items highlighted at the industry fair include a cash register system that reads microchips in plates to identify what food is being served at senior citizen cafeterias (a unique feature in China). It delivers nutritional reports with calorie counts and macronutrient listings to help staff. Regular diners can track their weight, nutritional habits and health status as part of the initiative. 

Similar products are in use within Australia, with an RFID tag allowing for personalised plates to be weighed and analysed to determine how much food a resident eats per meal. This is designed to combat malnutrition in the long term. 

China has always embraced technology, but it has also relied on a culture where family members look after one another. Now, that isn’t possible like it once was and digital monitoring is a potential solution for a growing problem.

“We are all parents of only children… our children are nearly 50 and they have their own work and families, so when we’re old, we will choose the elder care organisations provided by the government, group forms of elder care,” Shi Wenjun, 73, told AFP.

“If older people can use smart technologies, they won’t bother others. But for a lot of things, we are still in the process of learning and figuring it out.”