Addressing Rapidly Aging Society Challenges Through Health 4.0

Abstract

People in the world are living longer than ever before, a major achievement of modern science and healthcare. Older people make up a growing proportion of the population, as well as an increasing contribution to society. However, an aging population might lead to the presumption that there will be an increased need for health and social care services. The reality, however, is more complicated. Without significant improvements in healthcare, the aging population will increase the number of people with ill-health and disabilities. Chronic conditions, and multiple morbidities at the same time will increase in numbers common. This, in turn, will put additional pressure on public services and care providers. To meet this demand, there is a need to adapt digital health and care systems and support for elderly as well as their informal caregivers. Currently, digital technologies are advancing at a rapid pace, with promising achievements that will have a relevant impact on the healthcare field. These advanced digital technologies (robotics, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, internet of things, or virtual-augmented reality) are grouped under the concept of Health 4.0, which fosters the use of cyber-physical systems to transform the current hospital-centric care delivery toward a more ubiquitous, smart, preventive, and personalized approach. This paper explores how health and care need change with age and how this need can be accommodated using Heath 4.0 technologies. We contribute to the Health 4.0 literature by offering a synthesis of the benefits and challenges that elderly people deal with when using Health 4.0 technologies.