Designing the world for aging

Not only is the number of older people growing in many countries in general (including the Philippines in particular), but senior citizens struggle with poverty and require specialized care and support. In this topic, we will explore how we can meet the needs of the aging individuals and groups with research, policy and public service. For instance, despite the fact that the situation of senior citizens today may be different to those of senior citizens of the future, how might we design more aging-friendly environments while anticipating the changing profile and needs of senior citizens? Given that play has an essential role in human development but the role of play in adult’s lives has received much less attention than in the case of children, how can the notion of play in its various forms be used as an intervention for a problems faced by ageing populations? How might continuing education, lifelong learning, and intergenerational communication allow us to continually engage senior citizens as vital, contributing members of society?

In this project you will explore and learn to

• Describe and discuss the value of design research methods in addressing wicked problems such as designing a more aging-friendly world
• Identify trends and forecasts related to the aging population
• Identify stakeholders (other than senior citizens) who play key roles in the issue of the aging
• Use rapid ethnographic methods to probe how the values, habits, and behaviors of stakeholders can help with designing for aging
• Explore concepts such as lifelong learning, continuing education, and intergenerational communication as ways to engage senior citizens as vital, contributing members of society
• Explore the role of play and flow in elderly care
• Review existing public and private programs and other available support systems to address the needs of aging populations, in order to understand the gaps in the quality of service experienced by beneficiaries

Skills, disciplines, and perspectives welcome include (but are not limited to) the following

Healthcare, geriatric medicine, cognitive neuroscience, psychology, education, social work, indigenous knowledge and peoples, policy-making, service design, architecture, theater, dance, performance studies