About Age Care Technologies®
A global organisation with one ambitious goal
Heritage
Built on over 30 years of international research and development led by founder Dr. Ian Philp.
Founded in 2018 to take the outputs of 30 years or research and create a digitised and scalable model, with a mission to make the model available to one hundred million older people globally by 2030.
Discovery
We have discovered ways to increase independence and quality of life in later life
This work is making a significant contribution to the development and implementation of the World Health Organisation’s Integrated Care for Older People (WHO ICOPE) Programme for transforming health care during the United Nations (UN) Decade of Healthy Ageing (2020-2030).
Our published research and multiple case studies have shown how we have been able to:
- Identify the top 56 threats to independence and wellbeing in later life.
- Enable older people to report the top concerns that affect their physical, mental, and social functioning.
- Connect them to support, based on their priorities for help and for critical risks.
- Generate information about the real concerns and priorities of older people. This will inform the development of better policies, products, and services for older people.
- Demonstrate the benefits for older people and their families through reducing suffering and improving the independence and wellbeing of the older person.
- Demonstrate the benefits for populations, reducing inequalities of access to care, the need for crisis services, and, by extending independent life, the need for long-term care prior to death.
- Demonstrate real world proof of implementing our methods in countries with vastly different systems of care.
A timeline of our history
1964
A problem identified
Populations are ageing in every part of the world; a transition often associated with suffering, loss of independence, and diminished quality of life. Healthcare policies and practices have struggled to keep pace with the ageing demographic. The UK’s healthcare system, for instance, has seen little fundamental evolution in structure since its 1948 inception, primarily focusing on episodic rather than preventive care and on the needs of younger people with single medical conditions.
However, pioneers in healthcare for older people such as Professor James Williamson recognised the challenge and developed specialist models and tools for proactive personalised and holistic care for older people. Furthermore, Williamson identified that most concerns of older people relating to their health, independence and well-being are under-reported.
1989–2018
EASYCare project
Over three decades (1989-2018), Dr Ian Philp led an international effort (EASYCare project) with clinical and academic leaders to address these challenges. There were three distinct stages: conceptual phase (1989 – 1992), proof of concept and evidence generation (1993-2003), and developing an international standard (2004-2018).
1989–1992
Conceptual Phase
A method was developed to help older people report their concerns and connect them to support. The process started in 1989 under the tutelage of Dr Robert Kane to adapt specialist assessment methods for use at scale. The initial design was refined with clinicians and older people in Europe and the US to understand and address their priorities. Scoring systems were developed using Magnitude Estimation techniques, to create a prototype.
1993–2003
Proof of concept and evidence generation
The prototype was developed and validated in European research networks. The European Office of the World Health Organisation and the European Commission provided funding and oversight. Projects were undertaken in 12 European Union countries involved working with clinicians, service providers, public health, and policy leaders at local and national levels. The methods could be implemented by any person with contact with older people (volunteers, vocational workers or professionals).
2004–2018
Developing an international standard
The work was expanded to an international network of research pioneers (the EASYCare International Research Network) in 50 countries across all WHO regions.
- The network generated more than a hundred publications
- An independent economic evaluation conducted in 2017 by the International
- Longevity Centre UK based on a review of publications and case studies, showed clear evidence of economic benefits of the method.
2017–2019
Development of the ICOPE guidelines by the WHO
The project garnered national and global acclaim. The University of Sheffield received the Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2000 for its international healthcare research improving older people’s lives.
The EASYCare project influenced the development of WHO programme for Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) under the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (2020-2030). 10
Therefore, by 2018, a robust method was available that was known to help older people report concerns and connect them to support with established benefits for older people and healthcare systems globally.
2018
Age Care Technologies®: A business vehicle to scale the EASYCare Project methods
Dr Philp recognised the limitations of a research paradigm for widespread adoption of the methods and that a business-oriented approach would be necessary to translate the innovative methods into scalable solutions with global reach. Dr Philp secured the EASYCare intellectual property and founded a social-purpose business, Age Care Technologies (ACT) in 2018.
ACT fostered global connections through participation in WHO Expert Groups of clinical, policy, and advocacy leaders. ACT further expanded its network by engaging with global business leaders through the Global Coalition of Ageing, a leading organisation representing businesses to address the challenges and opportunities with population ageing.
Through engaging with potential customers, ACT identified there were no globally validated digital tools that provided person-centred assessment and support for older people, nor tools which could generate validated data about the needs of older people to inform policy, research, and practise.
2021
WSIS
In 2021, ACT won the United Nations World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) prize for innovation in healthy ageing for its potential to add 100 million quality life years for older people and reduce global costs of long-term care by $45 trillion.
The UK Government recognised ACT as one of the Top 25 Most Promising Start-up Companies embracing digital technologies.
2030
With your help, we will have achieved our mission to improve the lives of 100 million older people
Case Studies
Providing data and reporting about population needs and outcomes. This is used by researchers and policymakers to undertake comparative population analysis.
See case studies