Part 1: Understanding The Elderly Challenge

The four key recommendations are as follows:

1. Housing options for the old: There must be a wide array of housing options to suit the needs of the elderly. Singapore should be the best homes for all ages.

2. Traveling accessibilities for the old: Singapore should be a friendly place, a place for elderly to go around and exercise and have fun. Everything should be elder-friendly. The transport system(Buses, trains etc.) should be barrier-free

3. Caring for the old: The elderly needs endless care and protection. All the healthcare systems must be efficient, cheap and easily accessible for the elderly.

4. Variety of opportunities for the elderly: elderly people must lead healthy lifestyles and build more relationships between their families

One way the CAI report is recommending to make our public housing more elderly-friendly:

--- they are planning to build more houses that are more elderly friendly.

State two ways on how we can ensure that the quality of elderly care here in Singapore is affordable:

We could raise the efficiency of the healthcare system AND make the healthcare system more cheaper for the elderly.

After reading the CAI report, what do you are the THREE things that you can do, as an SST student, to help overcome these elderly challenges:

1. We can design many tools. Two possible tools are as follows:

(a) a special handy walking stick that has the following properties:

-It tells time and the LCD display must be large enough to be easily seen by elderly eyes

-Foldable and Light (perhaps it could be kept in the pocket) and yet strong & sturdy

(b) a motion-sensor to be installed in each 1-Room or 2-Room HDB rental flat where elderly lives alone. If it senses that there’s no human movement in the flat for more than 24 hours (could be re-set), a warning signal would be sent to a control station (or Police HeadQuarters) to alert the authority in charge.

2. We can organize half yearly (or quarterly) trips to the old folks home to accompany them and talk to them.

3. The elderly, particularly those that live alone, can be provided reassurance through community organizations that offer live telephone chat. As SST students, we can be volunteers to such organization. For example, we could 'work' there for 2 hours every month.