The application of living gerontechnology in Hong Kong

Abstract

In Hong Kong, the problem of the ageing population becomes more and more severe. This does not only result in a huge burden to the society and labour force, but also great pressure on the demands of residential care homes and elderly care services. Hence, the government has proposed ‘ageing in place as the core, institutional care as back-up’ as the fundamental elderly care policy to alleviate such pressures. Under this principle, along with many researches showing the effectiveness of gerontechnology in terms of facilitating ageing in place, the government has started to emphasize on its importance in recent years. Relevant subsidies, exhibitions and promotions are conducted to encourage the use of gerontechnology. In sense of better promoting gerontechnology, it is critical to understand the underlying reasons for elders’ use and non-use decisions. Despite many researches investigating elders’ viewpoints towards technology, little attention has been paid specifically to gerontechnology, and the results may not be fully applicable to the situation of Hong Kong. Thus, this study has selected three living gerontechnological products that are being adopted in the current public rental housing (PRH) estates, and investigates the influential factors affecting elders’ use and non-use behaviors. In this way, the derived policy implications and suggestions tend to be more suitable for Hong Kong. By analyzing the data collected from the questionnaire study and the in-depth interview, this research has concluded ten important factors that affect elders’ use and non-use decisions towards gerontechnology. They include (i) product functions, (ii) professional advice, (iii) complexity of preparation, (iv) assistance, (v) necessity, (vi) price, (vii) product knowledge, (viii) social relationship, (ix) Housing design and (x) Age. All these factors are mutual influencing, which means that if any of them does not perform well, it will also create a barrier for the elders to use the gerontechnology. Thus, the government should take into account the above factors, and be able to facilitate the popularization of gerontechnology by improving its policies. The government should (i) enhance the promotion so that more people can grasp the relevant knowledge; (ii) simplify the subsidy application procedure to encourage and facilitate elders to use the products; (iii) provide elders with proactive assistance, especially for the solo-living elders; (iv) examine the eligibility of subsidy application effectively to avoid abuse; and (v) improve the housing design of the PRH units to cater the installation of different gerontecthnological products. With these improvements, Hong Kong will be able to bring up a rapid development in gerontechnology, and hence achieving the goal of ageing in place.