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Since the beginning of this year, Cáritas Coimbra has been implementing the AGAPE project ecosystem. This is a European project, funded by the European Union’s AAL Programme, which aims to adopt innovative services to promote an active and healthy lifestyle for people aged 65+, improve the quality of life of formal, and informal carers, and improve the provision of services by care organisations.

The project is based on the adoption of various advanced technologies, included in a platform (AGAPE Platform), which enable the monitoring of older adults’ physical activity and a personalised follow-up by formal and informal carers. In practical terms, older adults can monitor their physical activity through wearable devices (e.g. smartwatches, smart bands or smart socks), which are connected to a monitoring app (AGAPE Assistant). At the same time, this application is linked to a platform (AGAPE Monitor), where formal carers can monitor the daily physical activity of each older adult. There is also a chat app (IoChat), where all participants (older people and formal and informal carers) can communicate with each other and even create chat groups. Among the formal carers, there are AGAPE Coaches, who have the crucial role of, through the AGAPE platform, encouraging older adults in the project’s three pillar areas: Digital (promoting digital health literacy), Health (monitoring healthy lifestyles) and Social (promoting social inclusion).

AGAPE services ecosystem adoption strategies are being deployed and assessed in three EU countries: Portugal, Italy and Romania. The Portuguese pilot is being implemented by Cáritas Coimbra and has nearly 80 participants, including older adults, formal and informal carers, technical managers and volunteers. To this end, it has partners such as the Santo António dos Olivais Parish Council and various social services run by Cáritas Coimbra – São José Community Centre, São Pedro Social Centre, and Rainha Santa Isabel Day Care Centre – which have been testing the AGAPE ecosystem. There is also a network of volunteers who have supported the activities of this pilot by organising face-to-face sessions with older adults. Examples of these activities are the awareness sessions “Sleep and Ageing” organised by the clinical psychologist Filipa Almeida, “Adopting a healthy lifestyle” by the pharmacist Lisa Gambini, “Lifestyle for Healthy Ageing – physical activity, nutrition and mental health” by the general practitioners (GPs) Patrícia Fragoso, Ana Catarina Nascimento, Cátia Solis, and Francisca Melo Ferreira from the Family Health Unit of Coimbra Centre, and “Nutrition in adulthood” by a group of students from the Dietetics and Nutrition degree programme at the Coimbra Health School (ESTeSC).

The AGAPE project is co-funded by the European AAL Programme and, in the Portuguese case, by the Foundation for Science and Technology (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia). It is led by MEDEA and brings together 8 partners, 5 of which are business entities, 1 research entity and 3 end-users, including Cáritas Coimbra.

Got curious? Find out more at: www.agape-ecosystem.eu or www.caritascoimbra.pt/project/agape