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Maynooth University
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verybody likes to feel at home. As people get older, they like, if possible, to stay at home–part of a community that knows and recognises them.
Now, SHAPES, a major new health research project led by Maynooth University, is undertaking research aimed at helping Europe’s ageing population to live actively and independently at home in their communities with the support of assisted living technology.
Cooke, Assistant Professor in Applied Psychology. “The emphasis is on providing quality communities and living experiences which will lead to maintaining people in their homes,” says Prof Mac MacLachlan.
As part of a human-centred design approach, older people will drive the identification of the key challenges of ageing and how best to optimise the impact of technologies to empower and support people to live the lives they would like to lead.
“As of now, we have a lot of different technologies available to older people and people with disabilities. Someone might have a hearing aid, a wheelchair, home sensors and perhaps a ‘smart’ pillbox - but they don’t necessarily all work together. We want to bring assistive technologies together with connected health.
“We’re looking at the interactions between humans and technology because, all too often, technology developers and innovators can come up with new devices that don’t meet the needs of ordinary people in their own contexts,” says Dr Michael Cooke.
The SHAPES acronym stands for Smart and Healthy Ageing through People Engaging in supportive Systems – it is about a positive approach to ageing.
“This might mean, for instance, that we have clinicians doing online assessments, with sensors providing them with information on respiratory rates and apps telling them about a person’s physical activity during the day.
Mac MacLachlan, Professor of Psychology and Social Inclusion at Maynooth’s Department of Psychology, and Co-Director of the Assisting Living and Learning (ALL) Institute, is co-leading the SHAPES project alongside Dr Michael
For some older people, robotics could be helpful [to get them out of bed and onto their feet]. For others, it could be an app that connects them to activities in the community, whether that’s badminton, art classes or something else entirely.”
“We focus on usability so that older people can focus on what they can achieve with the technology, rather than worrying about how it is supposed to work.” Maynooth is one of 36 partners across 14 European countries in the SHAPES consortium. SHAPES is funded to the tune of circa €21m, and is the largest European