Summit taps into city's aging population
Shanghai has stepped up intelligent senior care development, considered a new engine powering the city's senior care industry.
This new trend is on display at The Shanghai International Elderly Service Industry Summit 2020 — New Opportunities for Elderly Care Industry of the 14th Five-Year Plan Period, which kicked off on Wednesday.
Officials and industry insiders are sharing insights into topics including opportunities and challenges related to developing the senior care service market, dementia care, standardized epidemic prevention, infection control for chain senior care institutions and Yangtze River Delta elderly care integration.
China's intelligent health and senior care industry is rapidly increasing, approaching 3.2 trillion yuan (US$477 billion) last year and forecast to surpass 4 trillion yuan this year.
"With the rapid aging process in Shanghai, satisfying the diversified demand of seniors, safeguarding the safety of seniors living alone, and spurring the vitality of senior care companies are some of the challenges confronting the city," said Zhu Qinhao, director of the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau.
"Seniors' reception to information science and technology is increasing in the city, and the demand for senior care consumption, remote service and family interaction will surge. Intelligent senior care is expected to become an important new engine powering the city's senior care industry. Authorities and senior care service providers in the city have been actively applying advanced technologies, such as big data, cloud computing, Internet of Things and artificial intelligence in senior care service sectors while exploring new development modes."
Many intelligent senior care projects have been awarded during the summit.
An online senior care service platform relying on the Internet and big data technologies houses information on more than 3,000 senior homes, senior care service centers, daycare centers, meal service venues for the elderly and senior care service organizations, making it convenient for seniors and their families to obtain relevant information, Zhu said.
A list of 12 intelligent senior care application scenes has been released, inspiring the design of several smart products and technologies — including intelligent medical kits, rehabilitation walking aids, devices monitoring abnormal health symptoms and rehabilitation robots.
In Putuo District, intelligent devices have been installed in the homes of seniors living alone, relaying almost 2,400 alerts detecting abnormal situations in one year.
In Fengxian District, 4,200 seniors have received an intelligent watch providing services such as monitoring, emergency help, positioning and health management.
Zhu said a number of social organizations and enterprises providing emergency aid to seniors through intelligent technologies have been established in the city.
"We will step up intelligent senior care service development in the city to make seniors' lives more independent, healthy, dignified and happy," he said.
The summit is part of the three-day International Exhibition of Senior Care, Rehabilitation Medicine and Healthcare, Shanghai 2020.
During the summit, Shanghai-based Fu Shou Yuan International Group, a funeral and interment service provider that also operates cemeteries, announced it has teamed up with Aeon Life, an insurance service provider, to launch a new pre-plan funeral arrangement contract plus insurance services targeting the elderly.
The service, the first of its kind in China, enables people to make their own funeral arrangements. Funeral service providers tailor the service to suit individual preferences.
Three hundred exhibitors from 12 countries and regions are participating in the summit.
Shanghai's population of senior citizens grew 2.9 percent in 2019 from a year earlier, accounting for more than 35 percent of permanent residents.
