Abstract:

The demographic shift of the worldwide population has already a heavy impact on society and economy for which EU is still not well prepared. An ageing population implies increasing necessary resources for health and social systems due to the degenerative diseases, co-morbidities and continuous loss of independence. Furthermore, an important deterioration of the quality of seniors’ life is usually encountered, which usually leads to their institutionalization. In order to avoid as much as possible a dramatic change in seniors’ way of living, providing in the same time all the means, supports and facilities to help them to have an active, independent and healthy ageing, multi-disciplinary, age-friendly tools must be developed. The emerging digital technology, the empowerment of the patients regarding the management of their own health, the huge openness and access to health information have already proved to have an important social impact.