Professor Lou Vivian W. Q. is the Director of Sau Po Centre on Ageing, and Professor at Department of Social Work & Social Administration at The University of Hong Kong. Her research interests focus on family gerontology, in particular family caregiving for dementia, stroke, end-of-life older adults, and social adaptation and mental health of Chinese older adults and family caregivers. She has committed to cross-sector collaboration with community partners, social enterprises, and the market. Prof. Lou was appointed as a member of Elderly Commission and Statistics Advisory Board. She is now a member Community Investment and Inclusion Fund, Senior Police Call Central Advisory Board, and Elderly Academy Development Foundation of the HKSAR Government. She is a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, and a Council member of Hong Kong Association of Gerontology and Consortium of Institutes of Family Limited (CIFA). Professor Lou is recognized as Healthy Ageing 50 leaders transforming the world to be a better place in which to grow older in 2022, Woman Change Maker in STEM in 2023, Ageing Asia global Ageing Influencer 2024, Golden Age Foundation Smart Ageing Champion – Academia in 2024.
International Conference on Gerontechnology 2024
Collaborating for the Future of Gerontechnology
Speakers
Department of Social Work and Social Administration
Director of Sau Po Centre on Aging
From Multidisciplinary to Transdisciplinary: Advancing Collaboration Model for Gerontechnology Development
In gerontechnology, the intersection of population aging and technology presents a unique challenge and opportunity for innovation. This presentation explores the transition from traditional multidisciplinary approaches to transdisciplinary models in propelling collaborative efforts to advance gerontechnology solutions. Historically, multidisciplinary teams have amalgamated experts from diverse fields to address specific facets of aging and technology. However, the intricate nature of gerontechnology necessitates a more integrated and holistic approach. It is time for a paradigm shift toward transdisciplinarity, where disciplinary boundaries blur and stakeholders converge in a unified endeavor to co-create impactful solutions. By embracing a novel User-Centric Co-Creation (UC3) approach, our objective is to cultivate a profound understanding of the multifaceted needs of older adults (i.e., physiological, functional, and behavioral), assimilate perspectives from older adults, family caregivers, and professionals, and harness emerging technologies like soft wearable robots to enrich the quality of life and well-being in later stages. Through the illuminating case study of the i-REACH project and best practices learned, we exemplified the advantages and obstacles of migrating from multidisciplinary to transdisciplinary methodologies in gerontechnology research and development. Join us on this transformative expedition from fragmented expertise to collective intelligence, forging novel pathways for innovation and inclusivity within gerontechnology.
