Technology will be vital for healthy ageing

Accelerating the pace of digital innovation will be critical to improving outcomes for ageing Australians, according to a leading researcher from the University of the Sunshine Coast.

UniSC’s new Cisco Chair of Digital Health and Ageing, Dr Alison Craswell, said digital technologies will make the aged care system more efficient and responsive, and help to deal with critical shortages in the healthcare sector.

Craswell will lead UniSC’s new Digital Health Productivity Lab, in a newly created three-year position jointly funded by UniSC and global technology company Cisco. The lab will allow researchers to develop, test and implement a range of digital health innovations using the latest technology provided by Cisco.

UniSC will also become the first regional university to join the National Industry Innovation Network (NIIN) and a key player in the NIIN Health Alliance, with UniSC Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) Professor Ross Young also appointed to chair the inaugural NIIN Research Program Advisory Committee.

A major focus of the partnership would be to tackle staff shortages of up to 400,000 health workers projected by 2050, particularly in regional locations.

Craswell said she could already see potential for enormous benefits for both patients and providers.

“The technology in this lab will be available to staff and research students to be hands on with devices and explore new opportunities,” she said. “Students in nursing and health disciplines could explore how, using cameras and an algorithm, we can detect if someone is at risk of a fall based on their behavioural patterns. Likewise, the camera can notify very quickly if a fall occurs.

“Telehealth is another enormous opportunity. We can already listen to a patient’s chest, heart or bowels via remote connection — but there’s still work to be done on the compatibility of systems and the networking that allows this technology to work seamlessly in practice.

“One of Cisco’s strengths is connecting communities, and we are so fortunate that they are willing to innovate in technologies but look to us for our expertise on how they might realistically be used.”

Professor Young said it was a major focus of UniSC to develop the skilled workforce to deliver care for older adults, but also to develop the technology to make their roles easier and more effective.

“By 2050, one in every five people in Australia will be aged 65 and over, so while many more staff are needed, we also need to look at how they might be best supported digitally, particularly in rural and remote areas,” he said. “We are also appointing a Professor of Healthy Ageing, who will lead an interdisciplinary team of researchers in the Healthy Ageing Research Cluster that brings together more than 50 staff in health, science, law, mental health, business and more.

“This is testament to the importance, and urgency, of understanding healthy ageing, the needs of Australia’s population and adapting quickly so we can support their wellbeing. And the Sunshine Coast offers the perfect demographic for healthy ageing research, with one of the oldest populations in the country.”

UniSC researchers will also be able to connect to other existing labs in Cisco’s National Industry Innovation Network that are developing related technologies.

The partnership with Cisco continues to grow with the Centre for Digital Health and Ageing and the Digital Health Productivity Lab now building on collaborations in the areas of Sustainability, Smart Buildings and Secure Connectivity.

Cisco Australia & New Zealand Director, Education and Strategic Industries, Reg Johnson said the partnership offered an opportunity to innovate across a range of healthcare challenges and build better outcomes for Australians.

“There has never been a more pressing time to leverage the digital innovation and platform investments that have been made across the healthcare system and in the National Industry Innovation Network,” he said. “By facilitating collaborations with academics, clinicians and technologists, there is potential to develop and test exciting new healthcare technology innovations enabled by increased connectivity and digital insights.”