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CARDI invest €300,000 in new research projects to improve the lives of older people

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Date published: 
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
News source: 
CARDI
Region: 
Republic of Ireland
Northern Ireland
The Island of Ireland
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CARDI announce Call 3 grant winners

The Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland (CARDI) is delighted to announce funding of almost €300,000 for four new research projects aimed at improving the lives of older people and informing future policy for an ageing population in Ireland, North and South.
The four chosen projects include predicting the future needs of long-term care, investigating social isolation in rural areas, examining end of life care for dementia patients and assessing the financial security of older women with particular regard to pension provision.
Professor Bob Stout, Queen’s University Belfast, Co-chair of CARDI, said:
 
“We were delighted to have received a very large number of high quality applications for Call 3 of our grants programme. We are confident that the grants, worth almost €300,000, will bring benefits to the daily lives of older people and ensure that both parts of Ireland are prepared to meet the needs of an ageing society.”
 
“The four grant winners will examine crucial issues of concern for older people including social exclusion, financial security and health and social care. They also have a strong focus on the policy implications of their research work and show a commitment to partnership and interdisciplinary work, all of which underpin CARDI’s mission”, he added.
There are over one million people aged 60 or older living on the island of Ireland and this number is set to increase in the coming decades. This demographic shift will require creative policies to respond to the needs of an older population. New policies will, in turn, require improved research relating to ageing if they are to be well-designed and effective.
Grant winners
 
The Call 3 grant winners reflect the diverse nature of ageing research covering topics including social isolation, future care needs, end of life care for people with dementia and financial security. The winning projects are detailed below:
 
A predictive model of long-term care
Rapid growth in numbers of older people in Ireland (North and South) requires informed planning for long-term care, both residential and in the community. This project brings together researchers from Trinity College Dublin and Queen’s University Belfast with Age Action to construct a predictive model for long term care needs. This model will be developed into a tool which policy makers can use to help better plan for future care needs of older people.
 
Factors influencing physician decision-making regarding medication use in patients with dementia at the end of life
This novel study will seek to evaluate, in Ireland (North and South), the extent to which patient-related factors influence clinical decision-making in respect to medication use in patients with end-stage dementia. The project will bring together researchers from Queen’s University Belfast with University College Cork as well as professional health workers from North and South. The Alzheimer’s Society (NI) and the Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland (ROI) will be involved in an advisory capacity.
 
Social Exclusion and Older People in Diverse Rural Communities
The project brings together multidisciplinary researchers from National University of Ireland, Galway and Queen’s University Belfast with community organisations Rural Community Network and FORUM Letterfrack. The group will examine social exclusion among older people living in diverse rural areas and investigate ways to prevent social exclusion.
 
Older Women Workers’ Access to Pensions: Vulnerabilities, perspectives and strategies
Pension reform is today a key policy issue within Ireland, North and South, in the context of the current economic and financial crisis. Yet there is little discussion of the gender dimensions of these changes. This interdisciplinary study being carried out by researchers from National University of Ireland, Galway and Queen’s University Belfast will examine the position of older women workers, rural and urban, focusing on their access to economic security, particularly pensions.
 
Call 3 brings to 18 the number of research projects funded by CARDI’s grants programme. The programme aims to promote north-south research partnerships that bring together different subject areas to look at issues affecting older people in new ways. A focus of the programme is to support research that seeks to involve older people and to inform better policy making relating to ageing issues and older people.
 
 
Contact:  
 
Nicola Donnelly, Communications Officer, CARDI. Tel: 00 353(0) 867927684, E: nicola@cardi.ie

 

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