NEW LONG-TERM research on the health, economic and social lives of 8,000 older Irish people is expected to fill a knowledge gap regarding what is to become an “unprecedented phenomenon in Irish history”.
The public phase of the €26 million Tilda project, which is being carried out at Trinity College Dublin with academics from across many disciplines and institutions, was launched yesterday by President Mary McAleese.
“Ageing on the scale we will experience in the near future is an unprecedented phenomenon in Irish history,” Roseanne Kenny, professor of geriatrics and principal investigator of Tilda, said yesterday.
By 2036 it is expected that one in five Irish people will be aged over 65.
There is an acute shortage of such information on older people, and this longitudinal study will be “crucial in filling the gap” and will provide policymakers with a unique knowledge base, Ms Kenny said.
Every two years, researchers will conduct detailed interviews in the homes of some 8,000 people.
They will ask about the financial aspects of their lives, such as pensions, employment, incomes and assets. Researchers will also look at older people’s social lives, from contact with friends and family, to what formal and informal care they are given.
Medical examinations of older people will be carried out at the health assessment centre which was opened in Trinity College yesterday.
Among the indicators which researchers will measure are bone density, cognitive ability and clearness of vision. They will also look for early signs of neurological and heart diseases.
Asking for the views of these 8,000 older people “shows huge respect for their lived lives”, Mrs McAleese said. “In these very chastening times for our country, the wisdom, experience and the resilience of our older generation who have lived through several recessions will have a critical contribution to make to the national journey of recovery.”
Field interviews are expected to begin in September, with the first results from the study expected in the next two years.
