Ubiquitous care in aging societies - a social challenge

The phenomenon of an aging society is frequently raised in scientific, public and political discussions in the developed world. It is well known that a number of challenges related to the demographic, economic and societal development will lead to increasing demands for health and social care. To cope with these challenges, effective delivery of health and social care will be more dependent on different technological solutions. The objective of this paper is to identify emerging technological solutions and to relate them to the expected changes occurring in an aging society. Results from an analysis of existing literature show that ubiquitous care in aging societies is merely a social than a technical challenge as it will require a redesign of today's healthcare processes. Supportive technologies have to be adapted to older people's needs, self-care processes and coping strategies, and to support new ways of healthcare delivery under close surveillance of patient safety, legal and ethical issues.