In the final of The Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) series on Healthy Living and Housing, our focus was on the future of intelligent homes. You can access the session by clicking here and registering to watch on demand. For this session, I was pleased to be joined by: Dr Chris McGinley, Senior Research Fellow, Leader Age & Diversity Research Space, Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, Royal College of Art; and,
Dr Ozak Esu, Smart Assets Lead and part of the Construction Innovation Hub, Building Research Establishment (BRE)
Homes, health, and inclusive design
Chris outlined the role of the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design. It is a centre for inclusive design covering two main research themes, Age and Diversity, and Healthcare. They work across a number of design areas including strategic, visual, artefact, and the built environment and public spaces. His presentation included two short videos. The first was of an older woman trying to navigate the use of multiple remote controls to...
I had the pleasure of chairing the fifth in The Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) series on Healthy Living and Housing. The focus for this session was on smart home tech to support people’s needs. You can access the session by clicking the link here and registering to watch on demand. Speakers for this session included: Alisa Frik, Research Scientist, International Computer Science Institute; Postdoctoral Fellow for Berkeley Laboratory for Usable and Experimental SecurityNuno Almeida, Founder, Nourish CarePhilip Shelton, Principal Advisor (Commercial), Eastern Academic Health Science Network Perspectives on privacy and security Alisa discussed older people’s perspectives on privacy and security. This included reference to how older people make decisions about privacy and security with respect to smart home devices. What we know is that at present, much of the adoption of smart home tech is driven by older people’s children, and care providers, to support care needs. And it remains the case that a high proportion of older adults don’t have access to the internet. Alisa noted that...
I had the pleasure of chairing the fourth in The Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) series on Healthy Living and Housing. The focus for this session was on reducing social isolation and loneliness. You can access the session by clicking the link here and registering to watch on demand. Speakers for this session included Smriti Kotiyal, Research Assistant, University of Bradford
Marianne Wanstall, CEO, The Brendoncare Foundation
Heather Claridge, Principal Design Officer, Architecture & Design Scotland
COVID-19 and the role of technology
Smriti began by discussing the significant role that technology, including communication technologies, has played in managing COVID-19. COVID-19 is often compared to the 1918 Spanish Flu and 2009 H1N1 outbreak. Today we have improved capacity, diagnostic tools and communications. For example, current global internet usage sits at 53.6% compared to 25.8% in 2009. This has very much facilitated improved knowledge sharing and better use of technological advancements. The use of technology to reduce the spread of COVID-19 has not been without controversy. China is one...
This was the third webinar in the The Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) series on Healthy Living and Housing. The focus for this session was on monitoring vulnerable patients and remote diagnostics. You can access the session by clicking the link here and registering to watch on demand. Speakers for this session included Jessie Cunnett, Head of Health and Social Care at Traverse
Tara Marshall, Clinical Improvement Lead at the Eastern Academic Health Science Network
Daniel Casson, Digital Social Care, Digital Transformation Adviser, Care England and Managing Director of Casson Consulting London.
The experience of digital care
COVID-19 has radically transformed the delivery of health and care with a rapid shift towards virtual consultations. However, little research had been done on understanding the virtual health and care experience, and how this might differ across populations and care requirements. To understand this, Traverse, alongside Healthwatch and National Voices, conducted research on understanding the virtual health and care experience. Jessie discussed the recent report, The Doctor will Zoom you now. The...
I had the pleasure of chairing the second in a series of webinars for The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) on Healthy Living and Housing. The focus for this session was on care homes and community care. This built on the first session that focused on the links between our lived environments and our health. You can access the session by clicking the link here, and registering to watch on demand. Speakers for this session included Shirley Ayres, Co-Founder, Connected Care Network*
Dai Roberts, Senior Programme Innovation Lead, Health Innovation Manchester
Shirley Hall, Head of Innovation and Wellbeing, The ExtraCare Charitable Trust
Lee Fordham, Associate Director, Architype https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCLAr06knLg Clip from The IET’s EngShorts series covering many of the points raised in this discussion. Creating new living choices for older people
Shirley Ayres outlined some of the opportunities and challenges in the care sector, calling for a radically different approach. For Shirley, it’s time we had a long term care revolution. To put in today’s context, this is clearly a...
I had the pleasure of chairing a webinar for The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) on Healthy Living and Housing. This was the first of a six part series looking at the interplay between our lived environments and our health. You can access the session by clicking the link here, and registering. The next session is on 16 September and examines health and home in the context of care homes and community care. Speakers for this session included Julie Godefroy, Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers
Dr Richard Miller, Connected Places Catapult
Annalise Johns, Connected Places Catapult
Dr Helen Crampin, InnovateUK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxDnI9pWYbA Clip from The IET's EngShorts series covering many of the points raised in this discussion. What we know and don’t know about the impact of the built environment
Julie provided an overview of the role of CIBSE and their recent guidance, Health and wellbeing in building services. The focus of the guidance is on the effects of the built environment on health, comfort...
In the previous article I touched on some of the evidence emerging of the impact of housing on health during lockdown. The issues with poor housing stock are certainly not new and follow years of a lack of investment. This issue has become all the more acute during lockdown and could provide real impetus for change. Moving forward, there are real opportunities to affect positive change – at both the local and national levels. There is strong local case to be made for urgent community engagement, action and investment, as we move from the national to regional and local lockdowns. I also want to provide a few reflections on just some of the recent government announcements with regards to the property sector.
Local considerations
There are clear indications that the negative physical and mental health impacts for those living in homes that fail to meet decent housing standards, coupled with factors such as overcrowding or isolation, have been exacerbated by the closure of many...
Our homes and neighbourhoods are critical factors in our health and wellbeing. This has very much come to the fore during lockdown. In this two part series, first I touch on the current and emerging evidence of the impact of housing on health. I then put forward suggestions for where action is needed, now and in the longer term at both local and national levels.
The context
Disparities in living conditions have become all the more apparent during lockdown. Nearly a third, 31% of adults in Britain (15.9 million people) have had mental or physical health problems during lockdown as a result of poor quality and/or overcrowded housing (National Housing Federation, 2020a). Unless there is urgent change, this picture will only get worse as we move to targeted local lockdowns. In response to this crisis, the National Housing Federation has launched a campaign, #HomesAtTheHeart. The aim is to put social housing at the heart of national economic and social recovery by investing in...
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptRejectRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
