Application of Assistive Technologies in Smart Cities

Abstract

Urban areas in the European Union (EU) are ageing fast. As part of the "Operational Programme for the Implementation of the European Cohesion Policy for the period 2014-2020", some EU member-states have prioritised promoting the availability of affordable, sustainable and high-quality services, including health and social services for old and very old inhabitants. These services include long-term care. Until now, the critical issue that has not been answered is how to develop a quantitative model for measuring the quality of nursing and social care services for the elderly and how to plan social facilities for the elderly that will be available following the demand. Many EU member states do not have a compact system for the regulation of long-term care. Services and rights are arising from various existing systems. Often these are health, pension and disability insurance-as well as from the social welfare system. Given the demographic structure and projections developed by the European Commission and presented in The Ageing Report 2021, there is a need for reform that will enable the establishment of a uniform system of high-quality community-based services for the ageing and for those that need institutional forms of care. Some EU member states are preparing new legislation in the field of long-term care (LTC). It has to take into consideration the different types of social facilities where LTC services will be provided. These activities require the development of models for projections of needs and eligibility for integrated health and social services, monitoring of recipients of services and funds for LTC, and coordinating the development of integrated community-based activities. In the paper, we review the literature, highlight the gaps and propose future research agenda towards these achievements.