Publications

The Health Service Executive (HSE) (ROI) recently published its 7th review of the HSE’s Elder Abuse Services for 2014. In 2014, there were  a total of 2,592 referrals made to the elder abuse service which is an increase of 5% on referrals from 2013.  This represents the largest number of referrals received in any year since the service was established.

In the caregiving literature there is a common assertion that a higher level of carer stress is a critical determinant of premature ending of homecare. However, this contention has not been systematically assessed. This analysis carried out by researchers at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (published in PLOS ONE) systematically reviewed and meta-analysed the prospective association between various forms of carer stress and subsequent institutionalisation of community-dwelling older people.

The Department of Health (ROI) recently published its Statement of Strategy 2015-2017.  It sets out five major themes for action over the next few years. These include Healthy Ireland - improving our health and wellbeing as individuals and as a nation; improving patient outcomes and patient safety; moving towards universal health care; investing in IT and modernising o infrastructure; and embedding structural and financial reforms. Read more here.

The Commissioner for Older People, Claire Keatinge, recently published advice to government which calls for modernisation and reform of Adult Social Care legislation in Northern Ireland to better support the changing needs of an ageing population.

The 20th edition of aspire - Age Sector Platform's magazine - is now available to view online.

This year the format of the Pensioners Parliament changed and inside this edition you can read all about the first two ‘themed parliaments’ – on fuel poverty and health & social care.  This edition also features the launch of a significant piece of research into older people’s views of the health service here; and the launch of a new guide to help older people feel safe.

The consortium for Social Innovation for Active and Healthy Ageing (SIforAGE) recently published a guide to best practice for evidence-based policymaking to support healthy and active ageing. Read the report here.

The concept of fuel poverty refers to the inability to afford adequate heat (and other energy services) in the home.

Research led by Dr. Catriona Murphy (HRB Research Fellow) of TILDA and published in Health and Social Care in the Community reveals that 8.2% of those aged 65 years and older in Ireland are utilising publicly financed formal home-care in the form of domestic help and/or personal care. This is equivalent to more than 41,000 older adults utilising these services in the Irish population. Read the report here.

Employment rates of older men have increased steadily since the mid-1990s, following a period of decline from the late 1960s. At the same time, employment rates of older women have continued to increase. This growth was only somewhat arrested during the recent recession. This study from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation looks at the factors contributing to this growth in employment. Read the report here.

An ageing society brings new challenges in terms of fair distribution of opportunity and risk among and across generations.The Joseph Rowntree Fund’s ‘Generations, work and poverty’ programme seeks to inform policy and practice by gathering evidence, especially on the impact of ageing on those at the bottom of the labour market, in low-paid or low-skilled work. This study investigated the role that age and generation play in employment, and