Cáritas Coimbra shares experiences on how to accompany “a new generation of older persons”
The first webinar of UNICARE SUMMIT – “Telemedicina: um novo cuidar na saúde mental do idoso” (Telemedicine: a new mental health care for the older persons) took place 23 September and the Director of Innovation, Carina Dantas, participated on behalf of Cáritas Coimbra . “The new generation of older adults, are we prepared?” was the theme launched by Cáritas Coimbra, in a seminar whose central themes focused on the challenges of ageing, health in the digital world, healthy ageing and ethics and deontology in the exercise of telepsychiatric and telepsychology.
Carina Dantas began by pointing the needs of older citizens from previous generations, which very much differ from the real needs of today’s older persons, reinforcing organizations’ ability to provide different types of care and instil innovation in the care and social responses of today, even with existing limitations in the third sector.
In recent years, Caritas Coimbra has invested in several projects, some of which are already directed to people who are still working (Smartwork), others that try innovative solutions, such as robotics, and others that attempt to bring users closer to their families through technologies. For example, technologies that have video calls features, access to cognitive stimulation, games and news. Carina Dantas listed a set of simple activities that improve in some way the services provided and that enhance the social participation of older people, thus improving healthy ageing, even preventing some types of diseases.
Another issue addressed was the importance of collaborative work, to which Carina Dantas mentioned Cáritas Coimbra’s participation in two initiatives: the Thematic Network SHAFE and the Portuguese Network Healthy, Intelligent and Friendly Environments. Both aim to link health, social, environment (infrastructures, housing or urban physical spaces) and technologies.
Carina Dantas also mentioned the opportunities and challenges in accompanying this new generation of older persons. “The digital is undoubtedly an opportunity,” and this statement is further reinforced by the situation experienced by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Director of Innovation referred to the need of bringing these various areas together and ended her statement by proposing the challenge of rethinking short and medium-term prospects for upcoming years. This way, a new assessment of the social and health sector will be made, taking into account the current pandemic situation, so that they are more useful and adapted to this new generation of older adults.
Watch all speakers of the UNICARE SEMINAR Webinar 1 at: https://www.facebook.com/unicare.telemedicina/videos/463924404567402
