Collaboration for Ageing and Aged-Care Informatics Research
Team leader: Professor Jeffrey Soar , Chair in Intelligent Domestic Healthcare Infrastructure
Core Team members: Dr Jianming Yong, Dr Latif Al-Hakim, Frank Whittaker (PhD candidate), Dr Fouad Kamel (Faculty of Engineering and Surveying), Assoc Prof Trudy Yuginovich (Faculty of Sciences)
The current focus of CAAIR members is to establish SAIL (Smart Ageing & Independent Living Foundation). This is a national research consortium which builds upon the success of USQ’s Queensland Smart Home initiative to facilitate adoption of innovative technology to benefit consumers, their families and carers and attracts research funding to support ageing and independent living. It has attracted significant support from across Australia and overseas. SAIL is expected to be launched in 2011 in collaboration with The University of Queensland.
The Collaboration for Ageing and Aged-care Informatics Research (CAAIR)
CAAIR was established in 2004 and aims to be a leading centre for information management and technology solutions to address the issues of ageing and aged care that are of increasing concern in many countries. CAAIR members have received grants from the ARC, Queensland Government Smart Futures fund, Federal Government, Pfizer and many others.
Queensland Smart Home Initiative
CAAIR members established the Queensland Smart Home Initiative in 2006 which aims to raise awareness of the benefits of technology for healthcare and independent living. The QSHI has attracted the participation of government departments, Tunstall Healthcare, LifeTec, Nexus Online, Aged Care Queensland, Intel-Care Innovations, and other MNCs and SMEs, care provider organisations, care consumers and researchers from other universities. The QSHI has established two demonstration Smart Homes where people can touch and feel fully-functioning telecare, telehealth and innovative assistive technologies.
SAIL (Smart Ageing & Independent Living Foundation)
CAAIR’s newest research consortium SAIL aims, through its research agenda, to develop pathways to adoption of technologies that can assist older people and others to live independently in dignity and with on-line access to care. There are huge needs for better supporting community care workers leaving more time for care and providing other benefits such as improved efficiency and productivity. This includes streamlining effective care planning and delivery (with a particular interest in time that might be wasted in searching for information, in communicating with others to find information, in travel that could be avoided, and in components of delivery of care that could otherwise be reduced through these technologies whilst at the same time improving care quality). It will also explore ways that productivity and efficiency of staff might currently be compromised through miscommunication and a lack of information and productivity tools.
International links: CAAIR researchers enjoy strong and active international research links with China, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, New Zealand and Europe.