Hanam-si Provides 24-Hour Health Services to 60 Vulnerable Seniors Aged 65 and Over
Overall Satisfaction Improved for Seniors Using AI Health Robots and Mental Health Services
The AI health management robot ‘Hanami,’ distributed by Hanam City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Lee Hyun-jae), has been confirmed to help alleviate depression by serving as a conversational companion for the elderly and excellently performing the role of caring for their daily lives.
Lee Hyun-jae, Mayor of Hanam City, is visiting and talking with a senior living alone. Photo by Hanam City
According to Hanam City on the 19th, a health survey was conducted on 60 vulnerable elderly living alone aged 65 and over, and the mental health management (depression) index was analyzed before and after the ‘AI Robot Utilization Elderly Health Management Project.’ The depression score (out of 15 points) decreased by 1.4 points, from 4.2 before the project to 2.8 after.
The AI Robot Utilization Elderly Health Management Project is a program in which Hanam City purchased the ‘AI Health Management Robot Hanami’ with 108 million KRW of provincial funds secured through selection in a Gyeonggi Province public contest to assist daily care for elderly living alone aged 65 and over in the city.
The positive impact on the reduction of depression scores among participating elderly is analyzed to be due to the AI robot Hanami being designed based on ‘Chat GPT’ (AI emotional conversation), which can analyze the intent of the elderly’s questions, enabling natural conversations.
Additionally, Hanam City optimized elderly care by utilizing the AI robot Hanami equipped with various functions such as personalized alarms for managing healthy lifestyles, including wake-up, bedtime, and medication reminders; disease prevention content like quizzes and songs to help cognitive enhancement; motion detection sensors for preventing solitary deaths and ensuring safety; and real-time monitoring through a control system.
An elderly participant in the project expressed gratitude, saying, “Thanks to enjoyable conversations with the AI robot Hanami and help in forming healthy lifestyle habits, my usual level of depression has been reduced by half, and the dosage of depression medication has decreased, greatly improving my condition.”
A Hanam City Public Health Center official stated, “This project provided an opportunity to support the health and emotional stability of elderly living alone,” adding, “Hanam City will continue efforts to improve the quality of life for the elderly through non-face-to-face care services using AI health management robots.”
For more details about the ‘AI Robot Utilization Elderly Health Management Project,’ please contact the Health Promotion Division of Hanam City Public Health Center at 031-790-5565.
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