The Center for Research Innovation in Elderly Care was originally founded in 2003. Assistant Professor Dr. Totsaporn Khampolsiri has been the chair since 2017 and oversees 9 core faculty members who do everything from teaching and supervising students, running individual research projects, coordinating community service projects for older adults, and serving as board members for the Gerontological Nurses Association.
The Center recently finished a collaborative study “Transferring Knowledge and Local Wisdom for Enhancing Psychological Well-Being of Aging People in Northern Provinces.” The Center partnered with educational institutions in Phayao, Lampang, Chiang Rai, and Chiang Mai improve the quality of life of older people in these provinces. The successful project integrated community participation, lifelong learning, media, product design, ergonomics and other factors to create holistic programs that addressed older people’s psychological, physical, and economic needs.
Chiang Mai University (CMU) lists older adults as one of its research priorities and this has resulted in increased collaboration between faculties at CMU. The Center is working with the Faculty of Agro-Industry to address dysphagia or trouble swallowing, in older adults. The Center handles the nursing care aspect of the study while the Faculty of Agriculture is developing food of a certain texture that is easier for older people to swallow.
Another study with the Faculty of Engineering is trying to make it easier for older adult diabetics to manage their calories and starch intake. Sticky rice is a food staple in Northern Thailand and trying to prevent older people with diabetes from eating it outright may be both unrealistic and impossible. Together the Center for Research Innovation in Elderly Care and the Faculty of Engineering are creating a rice container that can give older adults real-time feedback regarding the number of calories and carbohydrates in their serving of sticky rice. This will allow older adults to better control what they eat and manage their blood sugar.
Looking forward, the Center for Research Innovation in Elderly Care is in the process of applying for a grant with several faculties at Chiang Mai University to address geriatric syndromes in community dwelling older adults.