Global trends, policies, and gerontechnology

Abstract

Background gerontechnology is the scientific backbone of technology for older people. People have always used more or less primitive technical aids when there has been a need, for instance, to walk with a walking stick or replace an injured limb by some kind of prosthesis. However, modern gerontechnology was born in the late 1980s with the understanding of the population ageing and with all the opportunities of ICT and health engineering. Goal: To assess the global policies and global developmental trends from the point of view of gerontechnology. Method To review the developments within United Nations, World Health Organisation and international Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO's) with a participatory method because the author has been from the 1970s a member or chair of national and international delegations and participated in research and the NGO field. Results and conclusions This field of science is very multidisciplinary and demands skills of cooperation, networking and appreciation of various spheres of science and technology. People in the field of gerontechnology should not only be able to work with colleagues from different disciplines of science, for instance, with engineers, social psychologists, designers, architects, representatives of physiology, genetics, ethology, and health, but they should also understand global trends, political processes and systems of health and welfare. This is because the users are at the center of the development with their needs, opinions and attractions. The position, responsibilities and opportunities of participation of older people are strongly determined by the local culture, politics and social structure, and the economic situation of welfare systems and older people themselves creates the market for new innovations.