Data released on Friday by the Ministry of the Interior showed that Taiwan’s population was 23,337,936 as of last month, that it has been declining — with more deaths than births — for 19 months and that, including migration, the nation has been losing an average of 196 people per day in the past year.
A major reason for Taiwan’s declining population is its low birthrate, which had been one of the lowest in the world for many years, and the latest statistics show the trend continuing — with only 64,314 newborns in the first seven months of this year, which is 9,984 fewer than the same period last year.
While low birthrates already pose economic and social challenges, the latest statistics show that people aged 65 years or older accounted for 19.64 percent of the nation’s population as of last month, indicating that Taiwan is about to become a “super-aged society,” defined as one in which elderly people make up 20 percent or more of the population.
While having a rapidly aging population with low birthrates is not an issue that Taiwan faces alone, it is more severe than in many countries, and a pressing issue that the government and civil society must address.
On top of existing pro-natalist and long-term care policies, President William Lai (賴清德) on Friday said the government intends to reinforce “three pillars of health” in response to becoming a super-aged society: improving the quality of healthcare services, introducing the Long-Term Care 3.0 program next year, and providing diverse and comprehensive support services for elderly people.
Facing a critical shortage of healthcare workers and caregivers — an estimated 892,000 people need long-term care and about 75 percent of elderly people have at least one chronic illness — from a rapidly aging population and shrinking workforce, the government has been working with non-governmental organizations and the private sector to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into healthcare services to free up time and energy for care providers.
Some examples include AI-assisted products developed by the Institute for Information Industry, such as a “long-term care AI agent” with speech-to-text AI technology that helps social workers keep records of their visits and give recommendations and reminders. Another is a “5G-connected AI-powered mattress care system,” which tracks elderly users’ sleep and health patterns, and even sends a warning as early as 90 seconds before the user is predicted to leave the bed, to reduce the risk of fall injuries.
While so far most of these technologies are applied in healthcare and long-term care facilities, more joint efforts from the government and society are needed to integrate them into homes and other aspects of elderly people’s daily lives.
There are also other policies beyond AI to address care provider shortages, such as an amendment to the Employment Service Act (就業服務法) passed by the legislature in December last year, allowing people aged 80 and older to bypass Barthel Index-based health evaluations for recruiting in-home migrant caregivers.
The relaxed regulation has raised concerns that it could make it harder for families with critically ill members to hire or retain migrant caregivers, as about 60 percent of people 80 years or older are not disabled. Hiring round-the-clock care could accelerate their physical decline, drive up service costs and limit lower-income families’ access to in-home care services.
The government should offer a comprehensive strategic blueprint and guidelines to promote independent and healthy living for the elderly, or even aim to redefine “elderly” — no longer limited by physical age — to encourage social involvement and make use of their motivation and abilities, as well as offer resources to help them improve digital literacy so they can feel comfortable interacting with new technology and have equal access to opportunities that are increasingly digitized.
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