China’s elderly care sector adopts smart equipment to make up for labour shortages

China’s elderly-care industry is hoping automation will offer a solution to an ageing population and shrinking workforce, with internet-connected sleep monitors, robotic arms and cafeteria plates with calorie counts.

Hundreds of retirees visited a crowded industry trade fair in Shanghai this week, thronging booths advertising everything from luxury nursing homes to physical therapy robots.

China’s population has been growing steadily for more than six decades, but it is set to begin declining from 2022, raising concerns about future labor shortages and increasing pressure on the health-care system as millions of people age.

Many of the fair’s exhibitors showed technological attempts to solve the demographic conundrum rather than relying on humans (traditionally one’s own children) to provide care.

Yu, a 64-year-old visitor, was in the crowd watching a company display an automatic stairlift and a device to lift people from their beds to wheelchairs.

He told AFP he was impressed.

“These days, there are fewer and fewer young people and more and more elderly people, so these smart products can better serve the elderly,” he said.

Yu said he has already purchased smart wheelchairs and beds for elderly family members, including a 90-year-old relative he cares for.

Meanwhile, Shenzhen-based technology company Innopro’s booth featured smartwatches, motion detectors and temperature monitors touted as products aimed at families to keep an eye on the elderly.

The company targets busy workers and people who live far from their families, and its customers include nursing homes and local governments.

“The facility hopes to save on labor costs as we normally have to carry out inspections every night,” employee Kim Kuo-hui told AFP.

“This device can reduce their work,” Jin said, showing us a small white box with a SIM card that monitors sleep patterns and vital signs.

“to understand”

For clients of senior cafeteria operator Aifu Health Management, the watchdog is the dinner plate, which contains a chip that identifies the food served.

It reduces the workload of service staff and healthcare professionals by scanning chips at the register and providing an instant nutrition report with calorie count and macronutrient breakdown.

Patrons can set up a payment card that tracks their weight, nutritional habits and health.

At another booth, students from Shanghai Jiao Tong University were tinkering with code for a robotic arm designed to help elderly people with limited mobility perform everyday tasks like eating or turning doorknobs.

The shift to high-tech solutions stands in stark contrast to China’s traditional ideal of retiring at home, cared for by family.

Shi Wenjun, a 73-year-old visitor, said there was a “clear difference” between today’s elderly people in China and previous generations.

“We are all only parents, our children are almost 50 and have their own jobs and families, so when we get older we will opt for congregate care, the government-provided elderly care organisation,” she told AFP.

“If the elderly can make use of smart technology, they will no longer cause trouble to others,” Shi said.

Ms See, a volunteer who organises activities for elderly people in her neighbourhood, said she has caught up on many of the latest technologies, including smartphones.

“But we’re still learning and understanding a lot of things,” she said.

© 2024 AFP