From 4 to 6 March, thousands of people come together around health and assistive technology and assistive products in Copenhagen, with the goal of safeguarding the Danish health and welfare system against future workforce shortages -- and ensuring a good quality of life for all citizens, regardless of ability.
Thousands of people will soon gather in the exhibition halls at Bella Center Copenhagen.
The occasion is the recurring Health & Rehab fair, which is Northern Europe's leading trade fair for assistive products, digital solutions, health and assistive technology, and care and hospital equipment.
But it is not just the interest in technology and the latest assistive products that draws so many visitors into the halls -- quite the contrary. To a large extent, it is also about how the future Danish welfare system should be structured.
Recruitment challenges and workforce shortages
Denmark is in the midst of a demographic crisis.
The number of elderly citizens is rising, and at the same time there is a shortage of healthcare personnel to deliver care -- which in the long term may challenge the Danish welfare system, both in the elderly care and the social services sectors.
Furthermore, for several years there have been difficulties attracting new students to social and healthcare education programmes. In other words, there are fewer workers to look after the country's elderly citizens.
"Health and assistive technology, together with assistive products, can play an important role in maintaining the level of welfare."
-- Morten Rasmussen, CEO of Danish.Care
"As a society, we face a real challenge in the health and welfare sector. There is a growing number of elderly citizens with care needs, which means we will need more workers in healthcare and care in the future. Many municipalities are already experiencing difficulties recruiting new healthcare staff."
A 2024 survey conducted by CareNet, the Danish Technological Institute and Danish.Care shows that every single Danish municipality that participated in the survey (80 municipalities) expects to face a shortage of healthcare personnel in the future.
Technology is part of the solution
The same survey reveals that 96 per cent of Danish municipalities view technology as part of the solution to the recruitment and workforce challenges, while 97 per cent believe that successful use of assistive technology is important for maintaining the municipal level of welfare.
And that is precisely why so many people choose to attend the Health & Rehab fair, says Morten Rasmussen.
"The fact that we can bring so many people from the sector together under one roof shows that society as a whole takes the recruitment challenges and workforce shortages seriously. There is a need to do things differently in the future if we are to maintain the level of welfare in Denmark, and the technological potential in the health and welfare sector is undoubtedly enormous."
"It is not about technology taking over close, personal care and human attention. It is about technology serving as a supplement in care work and redirecting human resources to where they create the greatest value -- and that is precisely in close, personal care. That is why we are all here."
Strong interest from home and abroad
More than 7,500 visitors attended Health & Rehab when the fair was last held in 2023. The expectation is that even more will attend in 2025.
Visitors include both frontline staff and managers from municipalities and regions, such as occupational and physiotherapists, nurses and assistive technology consultants. In addition, a number of private citizens attend, and there are also guests from more than 20 other countries, primarily from Sweden, Norway and Germany.
"There are many good reasons to visit Health & Rehab 2025. It covers everything from recruitment challenges and workforce shortages, to an overview of the latest solutions for people with disabilities, to education and political debate about the assistive products sector. And it is simply fascinating in itself to see all the brilliant solutions on display. So I would encourage everyone to come along -- there is something for everyone and admission is free."
-- Morten Rasmussen