ENLIGHTEN: homEbouNd peopLe agInG witH TEchNology: 55th Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG) Conference

BackgroundAn emerging "caring life-course theory" (CLCT) describes the proportion of care that needs to be met through self-care as the top space engulfed within a U-shaped line. Its central assumption is that mostly around two points (beginning-of-life and end-of-life), a person's care needs tend to be met by others.(1) However, we argue that in many cases, the increasing demands of aging populations require twisting such a U-shaped line into a horizontal one, more like a suspension bridge, supported by a necessary ongoing care provision.MethodsThis presentation introduces engineering design principles (anti-funicular geometry and tensile integrity)(2,3) to gerontology. The proposition involves investigating the optimisation of the healthcare system and its structural composition considering the latest technological knowledge and their compression and tension elements.ResultsThe healthcare system and its limited resources could cope with the most complex structural care demands across the life span of those experiencing chronic self-care impairments if transdisciplinary gerontology teams use anti-funicular geometry and tensile integrity design to model, test, and implement technological resource-saving care solutions.Conclusions/ImplicationsThe presentation introduces a novel line of future investigation for gerontologists. It involves transdisciplinary experiments modelling the use of technology and the compression and tension elements of healthcare systems. This new research angle may find a way to save resources while bringing high-quality care solutions to those with chronic self-care impairments.