Go vendla go! creating a digital coach for the young elderly

Abstract

The proportion of ageing citizens is high and increasing in most EU countries and there is a growing political pressure to make sure that the costs for the elderly care programs do not grow out of bounds. The focus of the ageing population programs is at the 75+ age group. The younger age group – the “young elderly” that is the focus in our research – does not get much attention. Recently, we have noticed a growing insight that preventive programs could be helpful as healthier young elderly will help produce healthier seniors (the 75 + age group) which over time will have significant effects on the costs for health and social care for the ageing population. Our study is a synergistic combination of two timely research areas: digitalisation and the ageing population. The focus combination of digital wellness services and the young elderly is unique. We build on a research program that is operating since January 2014. Our current research in progress aims at finding out how a digital coach – a personal trainer called Vendla – can be worked out for digital wellness services.