HowAreYou (Eldercare)

Supporting Seniors - Empowering Communities to Care for the Elderly

Empowering Communities to Care for the Elderly.

Team members:

• Enelton Satria, Product Manager and UI/UX Designer

• Kang Yue Ran, Software Engineer

• Kevin Pek Yue Ting, Software Engineer

• Clevon Wong Jun Yong, Software Engineer

Problem Statement

Community Monitoring for Vulnerable Seniors
As Singapore’s population ages, the nation is expected to have 100,000 seniors with mild disabilities—those unable to perform at least one basic daily activity—and 83,000 living alone by 2030 (SingStat, 2022). In response, the Silver Generation Office (SGO), a division of the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), is piloting the Community Monitoring System (CMS) pilot programme. This initiative focuses on at-risk seniors living alone with health ailment and / or poor social support, ensuring they receive frequent home visits for closer monitoring and timely support.

In piloting the CMS, SGO's key role is to oversee and coordinate the care of at-risk seniors. By collecting real-time data on these home visits and interventions, CMS partners (SGO, AACs, and PA) can respond promptly to signs of distress and ensure the well-being of seniors under their care.

The Importance of Home Visits
Isolation and physical limitations make regular home visits critical for these seniors. Staffs and volunteers are trained to detect early signs of distress, ensuring that timely interventions—such as medical assistance or social support—can be provided. Research indicates that home visits can significantly reduce mortality rates and delay the need for long-term care (Elkan et al.,2001). Those in poorer health benefit most, with targeted interventions leading to greater effectiveness (Rossum et al.; MSJ et al., 1992).

During the first three months of the CMS pilot, 5-10% of seniors received life-changing support, including nurse check-ins, social worker referrals, and hospitalizations for deteriorating health.

Challenges Faced by SGO and Community Partners (AAC and PA staffs)
Despite early successes, several challenges hinder the CMS programme’s scalability:
(1) Inefficient Visit Tracking: AAC and PA staff submit data manually using FormSG for each visit, leading to low submission rates and inaccurate data. Many centres also use their own systems, like Excel sheets, making it difficult to consolidate data for effective monitoring.
(2) Untracked Visitations: With only four full-time staff managing up to 70 unique home visits weekly at an AAC branch, teams may face significant strain in terms of resourcing. Currently, visits by community partners such as CREST and informal check-ins by neighbors are not recorded in the system. Capturing these untracked visits is crucial, as it would provide valuable data and help reduce the burden on staff.

Proposed Solution

HowAreYou: Empowering Communities to Care for the Elderly
With a growing elderly population and limited resources, ensuring the well-being of vulnerable elderly individuals requires a collective effort. HowAreYou is a community-driven platform that enhances monitoring systems through QR technology, real-time data tracking, and GPS location. By integrating these features, HowAreYou enables both staff and the public to contribute, filling gaps in existing processes and ensuring comprehensive support for every elderly person.

How It Works
Each elderly individual under the Community Monitoring System (CMS) is assigned a unique QR code displayed outside their residence. Neighbors or passersby can scan this code to register their visit and optionally upload a photo. This documentation assists staff in monitoring the elderly and encourages public participation in their care.

Additional Features for Staff
1. Access to Elderly Information: Staff from SGO, AAC, and PA can view detailed information about the elderly and register interactions from anywhere, even without scanning QR codes.
2. Smart Recommendations: The platform offers recommendations based on GPS location, identifying nearby elderly individuals who may need attention or who haven’t been visited recently.
3. Real-Time Monitoring: HowAreYou provides a real-time view of interactions across Singapore, consolidating data from public and staff visits. This enhances monitoring accuracy, facilitates timely responses, and reduces administrative burden.

Why HowAreYou Matters
HowAreYou addresses staff shortages and untracked visits by leveraging community involvement, smart technology, and real-time GPS data. It ensures a more connected and responsive approach to supporting high-risk elderly individuals.