UK-India Workshop: Affordable Assisted Living Technologies for the Elderly

Professor Mark Hawley (centre)
and other speakers at the event

I recently attended the UK-India Workshop on Affordable Assisted Living Technologies (ALT) for the Elderly in Bangalore, India. I was invited to give an overview of the current situation on ALT in the UK and to give views on potential directions for future innovation. I was also there to discuss how these innovations might be implemented in India.

India is experiencing rapid development and its health needs are also changing. Many people are moving to the cities and  problems such as high calorie diet and lack of exercise are becoming more common - as is smoking. As a consequence, chronic diseases have now overtaken other causes as the main cause of morbidity and mortality. There are some incredible statistics - such as the fact that there are now estimated to be 65 million people in India with Type 2 Diabetes.

At the same time, mobile and smart phone use is growing exponentially. A recent Guardian article claimed that India will add 200 million new smart phone users this year alone.

So, the potential for transferring some of the new ideas we and others are working on, concerning the use of smart phones to encourage and facilitate self-management of long-term conditions, is considerable. Clearly, the environment in India is not the same as the UK, and joint work involving both countries will be essential to develop new ways of applying self-management apps in the Indian context.

Written by Professor Mark Hawley