LU X BOC Life ‘Live Young’ Rewards Program – Shaping the trends of healthcare and technology applications among older adults

Hong Kong is one of the fastest-ageing societies in Asia, and innovative technologies help an ageing population stay healthier. According to the latest projections, the proportion of the population aged 65 or above could reach 30 per cent by 2039. For business sectors and start-ups, gerontech is a fast-growing sector with considerable potential for improving older people’s livelihoods, and academia plays an important role in developing gerontechnology.

 

Lingnan University (LU) joins hands with BOC Life's Live Young Rewards Program (Live Young) to promote gerontechnology and smart ageing. As a cross-sectoral collaboration, LU and Live Young, together with Quality HealthCare Medical Services Limited (QHMS) and the world-renowned smart watch brand Garmin, have launched a gerontech-related, theme-based research project. The project will last for four months and will encourage older adults, their families, and LU students as well as LU gerontech ambassadors to learn about health practices, and the use of different smart watch and health monitoring mobile applications in different age groups. The research data will be collected through experiential workshops, smart device and mobile application trial, follow-up questionnaires, focus group interviews, and individual interviews. The project also explores the effectiveness of gerontechnology in improving older adults’ social life and intergenerational harmony.

 

The first event, Gerontech Health Experience Day, was held in the LU Jockey Club Gerontech-X Lab this month, and aimed to extend participants’ knowledge and interest in health management and gerontechnology. On the day of the event, a smart watch by Live Young was passed to all older adults participants as a gift, by using the device with its connection to a mobile app, older adults can start to use smart healthcare technology in their daily lives. QHMS representatives were there supporting the participants in understanding the functions of the health monitoring smart device and how to read the data to manage their own health, as well as sharing professional health tips with the participants. The concept of online healthcare video consultation was also introduced.

 

“We are excited about joining hands with Live Young to promote the use of gerontechnology for the silver generation to establish regular exercising habits, and to publicise Hong Kong as a happily ageing society. Gerontechnology also helps bridge the communication gap between the young and the elderly, and preserves inter-generational harmony. We look forward to seeing the fruitful results of this research project,” said Prof Joshua Mok Ka-ho, Vice-President and Principal Investigator of the LU Jockey Club Gerontechnology and Smart Ageing Project.

 

“Eight months after Live Young’s launch, membership has grown to 60,000, of whom 6 per cent are aged 60 or more. The findings will allow the LU research team to further the programming and user experience, and we expect to see more older adults joining us. We earnestly cherish the collaboration opportunities with academia partners to explore and learn how to make the application of gerontechnology more user-friendly, and turn the problem of ageing into an opportunity for sustainable innovation,” said Mr Ngai Chi-wai, Project Director of Live Young rewards programme.

 

“Quality HealthCare has always been dedicated to applying smart healthcare technologies in enhancing the physical and mental health of the general population, especially providing professional medical and healthcare services that better meet the needs of Hong Kong’s ageing society, improving the quality of life among elders, and reducing caregiver burdens. We will continue to work closely with Live Young to shape a holistic wellness model for ecologically sustainable development,” said Ms Cynthia Chow, Director of Business Partnership of Quality HealthCare Medical Services Limited.