Digital Healthcare in Asia and Gulf Region for Healthy Aging and More Inclusive Societies

Abstract

The aging population in Pakistan, above the age of 60 years, is estimated to stand at 15 million people (David et al., 2022), and with population growth rates of almost 2%, the increase in this population group is expected to be 30 million by 2030 (Ashiq & Asad, 2017). Local scientific research suggests that the health burdens facing elderly people are immense and include issues of mental health (Mumtaz et al., 2021), chronic disease and comorbidities (Naz et al., 2021), and general health ailments related to aging (Ashiq & Asad, 2017). Healthcare services for aging people in the country can be classified as almost abysmal, with no state tertiary care centers having dedicated geriatric care or wards, limited geriatric specialist providers, and no geriatric health workforce in the primary set-up (Mazhar et al., 2018; Noreen et al., 2021; Saqib et al., 2018). Negligence of the aging population’s health stems from a combination of low prioritization by the state and exclusion of the study of geriatrics as a specialization in the medical education sector. The current healthcare budget stands at less than 0.8% (Muhammad et al., 2023), and with extreme political and financial instability in the country (Ashraf, 2023), there is little hope for investment in geriatric care for the aging population. This is where telehealth services assume great significance in creating inclusion and access for elderly patients in Pakistan who may not have the finances, transport, or other means to visit a health center.