Ageing in the 21st Century: Opportunities and Challenges

Ageing in the 21st Century: Opportunities and Challenges
Sara J. Czaja (PhD), Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Director, Centre for Research and Education on Ageing and Technology Enhancement (CREATE, University of Miami

Workshop Overview
The elderly population of today and of tomorrow will be healthier, better educated and wealthier than previous generations. Thus many older adults
will continue to take an active role in society and engage in work, learning, leisure activities and desire to live in independent settings.

This creates enormous opportunities for ergonomists, designers, researchers and policy makers to develop strategies to maximize the
contributions of older people and ensure that they are able to live independently and remain productively engaged.

Coupled with the ageing of the population is the increasing use of technology in most settings.
Technology can be used to foster the independence of older adults however, at the same time older adults need to be able to successfully adapt to dynamic changes in technology systems.

Designers play a critical role in this process with respect to ensuring that technology systems are designed so that they are useful to and usable by older adult populations.