Dementia refers to a group of diseases characterised by a progressive and generally irreversible decline in mental functioning, predominantly affecting people over the age of 65. In 2011, CARDI funded a project led by Dr. Suzanne Barrett of the Centre for Public Health, Queen’s University Belfast, which aimed to examine and compare some of the characteristics of people seeking help at memory clinics in Belfast and Dublin.

A Comparison of People Presenting with Symptoms of Dementia in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland (Barrett, et al., 2012) looked at two memory clinics, the Belfast City Hospital Clinic in Northern Ireland (NI) and the Mercer’s Memory Clinic at St. James’s Hospital, Dublin, in
the Republic of Ireland (ROI). This research brief is based on the findings of the project, conducted as part of CARDI’s data mining programme, as well as additional research on the context of dementia care and diagnosis across the island of Ireland. Read the brief here