Introduction to the 5th International Workshop on Intelligent Environments Supporting Healthcare and Well-Being (WISHWell13)

Abstract

This workshop is designed to bring together researchers from both industry and academia from the various disciplines to discuss how innovation in the use of technologies to support healthier lifestyles can be moved forward. There has been a growing interest around the world and especially in Europe, on investigating the potential consequences of introducing technology to deliver social and health care to citizens (see for example [1]). This implies an important shift on how social and health care are delivered and it has positive as well as negative consequences which must be investigated carefully. On the other hand there is an urgency provided by the changes in demographics which is putting pressure on governments to provide care to specific sectors of the population, especially older adults, a group which is growing thanks to advances in medicine and greater knowledge on the relationships between lifestyles and health. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2013.