Making progress in geriatric care
> The first Gerontechnology Symposium 2017 broached the amalgamation of geriatrics and technology
Management Society (TEMS) Malaysia Chapter.
Monash University Malaysia president and pro vice-chancellor Prof Andrew Walker shared about his vast experience, having worked in the Southeast Asian region. He also spoke about the progress across the nations in the field of medicine.
“Ageing, gerontology and gerontechnology are very important issues which we are all experiencing day by day. I have worked a lot with the society of Southeast Asia, and I can say in the last five or six years, what we have seen is a real fundamental social and economic transition in that region.
“Forty or 50 years ago the challenges stood from very basic things like infant mortality rate and preventing the spread of communicable diseases. Now, countries like Malaysia have moved through a very profound transition and are currently facing other health challenges,” he said.
He elucidated the whole new set of challenges that come when a country achieves economic prosperity.
“One of the positive effects of prosperity is that people are living a lot longer; so there is that rapidly emerging challenge in this region. We have to think carefully about how, not to just care for our elderly population, but also about how the elderly population can play a positive and productive role in society and the economy,” he explained.
CEO of Petrosains, Tengku Nasariah Tengku Syed Ibrahim emphasised the importance of being receptive to the needs of the elderly, and highlighted the “seeds” of Petrosains’ collaboration with Monash University Malaysia.
“As a society, we need to understand the challenges faced by the older person and how you or I can help them.
“Petrosains is privileged to have been involved in this initiative since last January. The response received when we cohosted the gerontechnology exhibition with Monash University Malaysia at our centre in KLCC was very heartwarming.
“We showcased simulation suits, innovative gerontechnology applications like a walking stick, a mobile bath-tub, and also a research experiment on the smartphone home system specifically designed for seniors,” she recounted.
In Yuan Ze University’s director of the Gerontechnology Research Centre Prof YehLiang Hsu’s talk, he delivered a