Photo by Telefonicá

The report Utilization and Policy Tasks of Welfare Technologies in Long-Term Care Insurance – Experiences from the Republic of Korea examines the findings of a study conducted in 2022, focussing on the current use of welfare technology in the Republic of Korea’s Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI) system, identifies barriers to wider adoption and proposes policy measures for its development and implementation.

Rapid population ageing and a declining working-age population are expected to increase demand for long-term care while putting greater pressure on care personnel and financial resources. Welfare technology offers opportunities to support the safety, independence and quality of life of older persons while improving the efficiency of care services.

Long-term care in Asia and the Pacific was on the agenda of a webinar on 27 August, and the report will be presented more in detail in a webinar planned for 25 November 2026.

Potential recognized, but adoption remains limited

Based on a survey of 1,134 facility directors, care workers and family caregivers, complemented by focus group interviews, the study finds that welfare technology in long-term care facilities remains concentrated mainly on conventional assistive devices such as wheelchairs, walkers, toilet aids and transfer equipment. Digital, safety-monitoring and treatment-support technologies remain less widely used.

Despite this, stakeholders generally recognize the potential of welfare technology to improve care safety and efficiency. Barriers to wider adoption include equipment and maintenance costs, insufficient financial support, limited information and training, difficulties responding to malfunctions, a lack of dedicated technical personnel and limited evidence on the effectiveness of many technologies.

Strengthening human-centred care

The report recommends expanding welfare equipment beyond conventional assistive devices, strengthening training and technical support, providing appropriate financing and LTCI fee incentives, developing standardized management guidelines and evaluating technologies in real-world care settings.

It also emphasizes the importance of involving older persons, families, care workers, providers, insurers and technology developers in the development of welfare technology. Ethical and human-rights safeguards are essential to address concerns around reduced human interaction and the monitoring of workers.

Ultimately, welfare technology should strengthen rather than replace human-centred long-term care, supporting safer and more efficient services while enabling care workers to devote more time to personalized human care.

Further research

The report sees the need for further discussion on the use of the term “welfare technology” in relation to other terms such as welfare equipment and care devices. It identifies priorities for further research, including broadening international comparisons, extending analysis to home-care settings and technology developers, and developing more detailed policy priorities and implementation measures.