Taking a Usability Engineering Approach to the Modelling and Optimization of Homecare and Caregiving Services for the Elderly

Date:

Tuesday, 28 May 2019

Time:

2.00pm – 3.00pm

Venue:

Seminar Room 2, Level 8
Tahir Foundation Building (MD1)
Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health
National University of Singapore
12 Science Drive 2, S(117549)

Synopsis:

Singapore is one of the fastest ageing countries in Asia. The speed of demographic ageing is happening at an alarming rate. It is projected that the median age in Singapore will rise from 33.4 years in 1999 to 41.2 years in 2030. In other words, Singapore’s elderly citizens aged 65 years old and above will triple to about 900,000, or 18.7% of the total population by 2030. Consequently, there will be higher demands on medical and care needs for ageing-related illnesses as the elderly would normally have encountered chronic diseases as they age and require long-term care, putting a tremendous strain on professional homecare and caregiving services.

Although digital innovation has driven a proliferation of value-adding technologies, there is a risk that these technologies exist in isolated silos, and create confusion rather than integrate into the elderly’s overall care management ecosystem. In this presentation, innovative solutions aimed to meet increasing demands for homecare and caregiving services, and user factors that contribute to making these technologies accepted and adopted will be discussed. Citing from several funded projects led, I will discuss findings relating to user feedback and user analytics drawn from elderly clients’ and homecare service providers’ perspectives.

About the speaker:

Dr Theng Yin Leng is Professor, Acting Executive Director at the Ageing Research Institute for Society and Education, Nanyang Technological University. She is also the Founding Director of the Centre of Healthy and Sustainable Cities (CHESS) at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, and Research Director at the Research Strategy and Coordination Unit (President’s Office), Nanyang Technological University (NTU, Singapore). In the area of research, Professor Theng’s philosophy is about doing worthwhile, scientifically based experimental Human-Computer Interaction in understanding users and their interactions, especially for Information Systems, in her earlier research on the World Wide Web and Digital Libraries, and with recent focus on interactive systems/devices for Healthcare and Education. Her main research interest is to develop innovative tools, techniques, methods and models to assist in the design and evaluation of interactive systems/devices, making research relevant and impacting society.