After two years of preparations, the TEC-MED project in Lebanon is at its pilot stage. This transcultural social and ethical model of care for old age will allow improving the care of the elderly through a thorough assessment and interventions through an online platform connecting older persons and their caregivers to care providers and a group of training agents who will be in charge of implementing the model in the field.

The elderly who are dependent and/or at risk of social exclusion are targeted through this innovative approach which comes as a much-needed intervention framework given the local Lebanese context and its challenges in these times of extreme need at different levels.

For the first time in Lebanon, the elderly and their caregivers are involved in an innovative care model joining them with relevant stakeholders and providing them with tools to improve their health and social wellbeing.

The pilot stage of the project will include older persons in institutions, homes, or centers with a mixed outreach method through a participatory approach between public, private and non-governmental organizations.   

The assessment will include evaluations of the elderly and caregivers according to different dimensions: dependence, social exclusion, health conditions, physical and functional capacities, basic needs, cognitive abilities, emotional management, and social relations, ability to promote a healthy life/death, family partners and caregivers as well as socio-economic determinants. 

This assessment will allow the prioritization of needed interventions which will come in the form of:

• Referral to services and resources through available resource guides and collaborations with partners
• Education of the elderly and caregivers through available materials produced for the project or available in the community. The IDRAAC team has been working with a group of professionals to produce materials that would match the identified needs in the assessment as well as address key aspects such as mental health, cognition, health management, fall prevention, nutrition, frailty, among others... 
• Capacity building and guidance through online or offline training and support for older persons, caregivers and relevant stakeholders.

Finally, the TEC- MED project aims to deliver an ethical, sustainable, and cross-cultural model of care that can be replicated on a national and international level. 

This project is an opportunity in the Lebanese context which lacks a comprehensive social model of care for old age and provides a platform for collaboration between different key players in social and health matters related to old age in Lebanon. 
In addition, the TEC-MED project is an opportunity to identify and address gaps and challenges in relation to old age and provide potential solutions to matters of the imminent need to be addressed.