‘Aging in place’ is about providing the necessary resources for older adults to remain in their own homes and communities safely and independently. It is generally agreed that Chinese people prefer to continue living in a familiar environment with the support of their families as they age. Policy makers and professionals have therefore placed great emphasis on conceptualizing aging in place as an attainable and worthwhile goal. Over the years, an ecological model of aging has been used to conceptualize the policy agenda. Improving the physical-spatial-technical environment to enable aging in place have been widely studied and publicized. New partnerships and collaborations required to fund and maintain the aging in place agenda, such as private foundations, research institutes, health services organizations and technology companies are also developing rapidly in recent years.
Yet, various local studies have found that traditional Chinese culture has been sapped, posing challenges to familial care for the elderly people. Coupled with the lack of adequate support for family caregivers, this has presented a great challenge on realizing the aging in place agenda. On the other hand, while technological devices and systems hold considerable promise in assisting a growing older population to age in place, there are a number of challenges that must be addressed before such technologies are fully developed, evaluated and disseminated. These include the limited evidence base, economic barriers and the need to address older people’s sensory, cognitive and ergonomic challenges in the design and operation of such devices. More importantly, successful use of technology to realize the aging in place agenda has to be backed up by well planned community care co-ordination services, such as home nursing and rehabilitative support programmes. However, such support services has not been adequately planned and delivered. More concerted multi-disciplinary efforts in enabling our older people to live with dignity and safety in the place they choose are required.
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