Inequalities in health and incomes will also be important topics in the projects being carried out by researchers in Belfast, Dublin, Cork and Galway.

Unlike other research funded by CARDI to date, these projects are concentrating on ‘data-mining’ - exploring statistics that have already been published but have not been exploited to the full. In this way CARDI plans to gain maximum benefit by bringing together top researchers and the wealth of data collected by statistical agencies, government departments and researchers across the island of Ireland.

“Our plan is to learn valuable lessons from statistical work that has already been carried out but whose value may have been overlooked,” said CARDI Director, Dr Roger O’Sullivan.

“By getting researchers to apply their expertise to the study of the data that exist we will add value to existing knowledge. We will draw out the richness of data sources and test theories on how best to plan for the ageing population.

“The research will throw light on important issues like disability, poverty, social exclusion, nutrition, mental health and risk factors in dementia. It will help policy makers and organisation representing older people to plan better and more efficient services,” Dr O’Sullivan added.

 

Summary of the six research projects

Poverty and malnutrition

Malnutrition affects a large part of the population of Ireland, especially older people and there is a clear link between malnutrition, poverty and government spending on health services. Eleanor Bantry White, research associate and lecturer in applied social studies in University College Cork and four other researchers will study age, income and food. They will analyse data on how much older people spend on food and its nutritional quality with a view to improving the diet and quality of life of older people.                     

Risk factors in dementia

Dr Suzanne Barrett, lecturer in psychology and geriatric medicine at Queen’s University Belfast, is teaming up with researchers in TCD and NUI Galway to carry out a cross-border study of people with dementia. They will focus on the demographic and clinical characteristic of the people involved and how these have changed over time. This should throw light on the risk factors in people with dementia and on any differences in the management of dementia north and south.

Causes of death                                            

Dr Declan French, research fellow in the Centre for Excellence in Public Health at Queen’s University, supported by Professor Michael Moore, Professor of Finance at QUB, will examine the factors driving the future of mortality in Ireland north and south. This will help us to understand the big increase in longevity over the past 50 years and provide realistic predictions for the future. In this way it can promote understanding of the factors that contribute directly to longer and healthier lives.           

Poverty, inclusion and the recession         

This project, led by Professor Paddy Hillyard, Emeritus Professor of Social Policy, plans to develop an index of the changing living standards of older people in Northern Ireland and the Republic which can be used by policy makers and organisations representing older people. It will cover five domains: household possessions, participation in social activities, economising behaviours, serious financial difficulties and subjective views on living standards. The data will highlight inequalities before and after the recession.

Physical activity and mental health

One of most underused ways to reduce depression is physical activity but levels of activity among older Irish adults are low. Dr Karen Morgan, lecturer in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, along with two colleagues, will examine the link between an active lifestyle and depressive moods and anhedonia (inability to experience pleasure) in order to examine how the physical and mental health of older people can be improved through changes in public health and other services, such as transport.

Multimorbidity and disability

If a person has more than one chronic condition it is known as multimorbidity. Dr George Savva and colleagues at Trinity College Dublin will map the distribution of these multiple conditions across Ireland and test whether socio-economic conditions and living arrangements affect the link between multimorbidity and disability. They will try to explain the differences in levels of reported disability north and south. The findings will help to plan health services and hopefully reduce health inequalities for a target group that has been neglected in research.

 

For further information contact Paul McGill, Strategic Research Officer, CARDI; tel: 0044 28 9069 0066; mobile: 00353 867 904 158.