SHAPES researchers speaking about SHAPES on 2020 IPA Virtual Congress
The “International Psychogeriatric Association” (IPA) congress took place on the 2nd and 3rd October 2020, and researchers from SHAPES, Porto4Ageing and CINTESIS lectured on digital health solutions for physical and mental healthy ageing.
The symposium, moderated by Professor Elísio Costa, was composed of three researchers: Soraia Teles, Luís Midão, and Pedro Rocha, and each of them presented digital health tools or methodologies focused on healthier ageing, both for older persons and caregivers.
Soraia Tele’s presentation was about an innovative tool – iSupport for dementia – designed to prevent or minimize the negative psychological effects of informal care provision. Luis Midão talked about electronic and mobile Hhalth, which are becoming prominent components of healthcare, and can be crucial to tackle frailty issues. Lastly, Pedro Rocha presented the role of evaluation on large scale health pilots, and its importance for funders, credibility and to improve conclusions and scale-ups.
The theme of the congress, which was held completely online, was “Mental health for people of Old Age in a rapidly changing world”. The entities that compose the symposium are all focused on tackling challenges related to healthier ageing so, their contribution to the event was very relevant since they enabled attendees insight knowledge on technology and methods that can improve digital solutions for different stakeholders on the process of ageing.