Caring For Carers: Innovating For Workplace Health And Wellbeing Support

在英国人口和劳动力老龄化的背景下，人们对50岁以上人群的高经济不活跃率（提前退休）的经济和社会关注日益扩大。大约五分之一的早退者是因为健康并发症，这对他们未来的健康和福祉产生了负面影响。申请人（洛雷托）的现有工作发现，解决老年工人健康支持问题的关键障碍在于：首先，他们缺乏对健康如何影响工作的理解，反之亦然;其次是能够将他们的健康需求传达给管理者，或者浏览可能提供给他们的职业健康服务。这项提议将把经验知识与一个令人兴奋的新技术创业公司结合起来（Smplicare）拥有健康数据收集和建模方面的专业知识，以开发创新干预措施，帮助个人更好地了解他们的健康，工作和更广泛的生活相互作用的方式，并将在此基础上提供一种工具，帮助他们更有效地满足工作中的健康需求。这项研究和开发将在受支助的住房部门是就业部门（社会护理）的一部分，目前在雇员承诺、吸引和留住方面面临危机。由于人口变化，提供护理的责任越来越大。因此，非常需要及时和创新的干预措施。

Against the backdrop of the UK's ageing population and workforce, there is widening economicand social concern about high rates of economic inactivity (early retirement) among peopleaged 50+. Around a fifth of those who leave work early do so because of health complications,with negative consequences for their future health and wellbeing.Existing work by the applicant (Loretto) has found that key barriers to addressing health supportfor older workers lies: firstly in their lack of understanding of the ways their health affects theirwork and vice versa; and secondly in being able to communicate their health needs tomanagers or to navigate the occupational health services that may be on offer to them.This proposal will bring together that empirical knowledge alongside an exciting new tech startup(Smplicare) with expertise in health data collection and modelling to develop an innovativeintervention which will help individuals better understand the ways in which their health, workand wider lives interact, and will build on this understanding to offer a tool to help them moreeffectively navigate their health needs at work.The research and development will be conducted in the supported housing sector, part of anemployment sector (social care) currently facing a crisis in terms of employee commitment,attraction and retention. The responsibility to provide care is increasing because of demographicshifts. As such, timely and innovative intervention is much needed.