In Singapore, a team of young professionals has turned their attention to the challenges faced by caregivers of the elderly, particularly those living with dementia.

Led by 28-year-old product manager Joshua Jai, the group launched a free app named 'Care Compass', designed to streamline access to essential information for caregivers.

The inspiration for this application arose from Jai's personal experience, when his 88-year-old grandfather suffered a severe stroke five years ago, leaving the family grappling with unfamiliar caregiving responsibilities.

Understanding the complexity of navigating care services, Jai and his four technology-focused colleagues recognized a significant gap in available resources.

The concept for Care Compass was conceived during the 'Building for Good' event in 2024, organized by the Open Government Products team, which is tasked with developing technology for public benefit.

Care Compass emerged as one of five winning teams at the 2024 event, subsequently receiving $20,000 in funding from the Open Government Partnership to further develop and launch their solution.

The app allows users to easily access information regarding care services, providers, benefits, and support systems.

With a simple input of their postal code, users can find the nearest senior day care centers, along with a list of services offered at each center and the opportunity to leave ratings.

Launched in November, Care Compass aims to alleviate the burdens on caregivers, particularly those new to their roles.

During the 2024 event, participants collaborated with experts from various government sectors to better understand and address the challenges they sought to overcome.

The Care Compass team consulted with staff from the Agency for Integrated Care and social service agencies, including the Dementia Care Association in Singapore.

They also engaged with approximately 30 caregivers, whose feedback was instrumental in refining the app.

Team member Eshia Tan, a 36-year-old graphic designer, noted that users reported significant time savings when searching for information using the app.

In a parallel effort, another application called 'Heart Beat' will soon be launched to monitor the health status of seniors living alone.

This app, set for release in late May or early June, is developed by a different team of technical specialists, who received $5,000 from a fund that supports teams working on public interest solutions.

Seniors using Heart Beat will log in daily to confirm they are well, with alerts sent to caregivers via WhatsApp if they fail to do so.

Additionally, seniors can indicate whether they feel 'well', 'happy', or 'sad' when they log in, and caregivers will be notified if a senior selects 'sad' for consecutive days.