Research Awards on Ageing

Projects Awarded Funding in 2015

The HSE has awarded funding to five projects under the first call of the HSE Research Awards on Ageing. The research awards are part the Healthy and Positive Ageing Initiative - a joint national programme of research, data translation, health promotion and dissemination led by the Department of Health with the HSE, The Atlantic Philanthropies and Age Friendly Ireland as key partners.

Jointly funded by the HSE Health and Wellbeing Division and the Atlantic Philanthropies, the five research projects are framed around the themes of Participation, Health and Wellbeing, and Security and were chosen following an All Island open call for proposals and best practice peer review to determine the successful projects. The projects will deliver innovative research findings relevant to policy and practice in ageing and will build upon existing data on ageing in Ireland.

The HSE Research Awards on Ageing support rigorous and high quality research on positive and healthy ageing that:

Promote original and innovative ideas in the area of healthy and active ageing.
Provide evidence that is of direct relevance to policy makers/service providers/service users and key decision makers in the field of ageing.
Support capacity building for career researchers who have the potential to develop as future independent researchers in the area of ageing and encourage research institutions across Ireland to access research funding, expand their research agenda and impact in the area of ageing research.
Encourage and promote multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary/cross-sectoral research teams to work in collaboration to build upon existing, and develop new, research in ageing.
Engage and value the contribution of older people in delivering research ideas and outputs relevant to policy and practice.

A total of 43 applications were received under the first call of the HSE Research Awards on Ageing in 2015. Applications were assessed based on a best practice peer review process. Conflict of interest and confidentiality were applied rigorously throughout the peer review process to ensure integrity and fairness. The success rate for applications was 11.6% (or 1:8.6).

process
Peer Review Process	Outcome
Step 1: Review of submitted applications by the HSE Research Awards on Ageing project team to assess adherence to the specified awards criteria.	43 applications were received by the deadline date. Two applications were deemed not to adhere to the specified awards criteria. 41 applications were progressed to Step 2.
Step 2: Assessment and scoring of applications by two independent international evaluators.	62 independent international evaluators assessed and scored the 41 applications.
Step 3 Short-listing of applications by the HSE Research Awards on Ageing project team.	12 applications were short-listed based on the independent evaluators’ scores.
Step 4: Review and final ranking of short-listed applications by an Awards Selection Panel.	The 12 short-listed applications were reviewed by an independent Awards Selection Panel, and two were deemed ‘Not Fundable’. The Awards Selection Panel agreed to fund the top five ranked applications.

Ranging from an assessment of the impact of austerity and policy change on older people to establishing how best to maintain social participation when people age, the projects are diverse but all aim to ultimately support the Irish population as we age. The awardees will share up to €500,000 allocated under the first funding call to support high quality, innovative and multidisciplinary research on ageing.

The HSE would like to thank everyone who participated in the first funding call, either as an applicant or external evaluator, and to extend our congratulations to the five projects that have been awarded funding in 2015.

Details of the five research projects awarded funding in 2015 are provided below.

“What are the important determinants for maintaining social participation in over 50s in Ireland? Evidence from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA)”

Details of the five research projects awarded funding in 2015
Grant Reference	Project Title	Project Summary
HaPAI/2015/RAK	“What are the important determinants for maintaining social participation in over 50s in Ireland? Evidence from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA)”	The aim of this study is to identify the important determinants for maintaining social participation in both social networking and informal caring in over 50s in Ireland. The objectives of the project are: To examine the transitions, of Irish adults aged 50 and over, into and out of social participation across a four year period. To investigate and identify the determinants that both constrains and enables this participation, including religious engagement, employment, family structure, health (both physical and mental) and accessibility of services. To investigate the support infrastructure available for carers within the older Irish population, and to examine the differences in physical and mental health outcomes for those who received care services while providing informal caring. To determine which combination of health and social care services is most effective in reducing carer ill-health. The study will inform development of strategies and policies for participation of older people in society, and will also inform policies and practices to provide support to caregivers to improve health and wellbeing.
Principal Investigator	Host Institution	Theme	Funding Awarded
Prof. Rose Anne Kenny	Trinity College Dublin	Participation	€98,250

**“Frailty-related Outcomes and health Care Uee (FOCUS): Supporting Older Adults to Age in Place in Ireland”**
Grant Reference	Project Title	Project Summary
HaPAI/2015/CN	“Frailty-related Outcomes and health Care Use (FOCUS): Supporting Older Adults to Age in Place in Ireland”	The aim of this project is to understand how frail older adults use the Irish public health and social care system, and to determine how these patterns of use impact on a range of physical health outcomes and social indicators over a five year interval. The objectives of the study are: Development, identification and validation of service utilisation profiles among the frail across the whole system of care at wave one of the TILDA study. Analysis of changes and transitions between service use profiles among the frail across the three waves of the TILDA study over a five year interval. Examine service use profile trajectories on a range of physical health outcomes and social indicators among frail participants at the third wave of the TILDA study. This project will investigate whether membership of particular service use profiles leads to different longitudinal outcomes in terms of health status, quality of life, independent-living, and mortality.
Principal Investigator	Host Institution	Theme	Funding Awarded
Prof. Charles Normand	Trinity College Dublin	Health and Wellbeing	€100,000

**“Caregiver Stress and the Host-Microbe Interface: The Microbial Toll of a Challenging Societal Problem”+**
Grant Reference	Project Title	Project Summary
HaPAI/2015/GC	“Caregiver Stress and the Host-Microbe Interface: The Microbial Toll of a Challenging Societal Problem”+	The hypothesis of this project is that family dementia caregiving is associated with dysregulated microbiota, as well as adverse mental health and cognitive outcomes, mediated by alterations in the metabolism of tryptophan, immune and HPA axis activation. The researchers propose that mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) might act to counteract the deleterious consequences of caregiving stress across multiple domains. The researchers will interrogate the hypothesis by assessing the gut microbiome in family dementia caregivers. They will also assess psychological well-being, cognitive performance, endocrine and immune system function within these caregivers to determine how these factors may interact with microbial change. A caregiver training programme and MBSR programme will be used to ameliorate caregiver stress, and the resultant effects of these interventions on the gut microbiome will be examined. Furthermore, the research team will examine the mechanistic effects of caregivers’ microbial profile by using a faecal transplantation approach in germ-free animals.
Principal Investigator	Host Institution	Theme	Funding Awarded
Dr. Gerard Clarke	University College Cork	Health and Wellbeing	€90,087.40

**“The impact of a tailored dietary intervention coupled with oral rehabilitation on the nutritional status of older patients”**
Grant Reference	Project Title	Project Summary
HaPAI/2015/GM	“The impact of a tailored dietary intervention coupled with oral rehabilitation on the nutritional status of older patients”	The primary aim of this study is to develop and pilot-test a habit-based tailored dietary intervention, in conjunction with oral rehabilitation, and to examine its impact on positive dietary habit-formation amongst partially dentate older adults. The secondary aims of this study are: To assess whether the habit-based tailored dietary intervention results in increased positive self-reported food choices in partially dentate older adults. To determine whether the habit-based tailored dietary intervention results in improved food-related well-being in partially dentate older adults. To determine whether the habit-based tailored dietary intervention results in improved nutritional status and biomarkers of healthy diet in partially dentate older adults. This research will add further evidence supporting a paradigm shift in the dental management of the expanding older population, where dental services can provide holistic lifestyle advice, reducing the burden on other areas of the health service.
Principal Investigator	Host Institution	Theme	Funding Awarded
Dr. Gerald McKenna	Queens’ University of Belfast	Health and Wellbeing	€99,868.60

**"Financial Security in the Older Population in Ireland: Assessing the Impact of Austerity and Policy Change”**
Grant Reference	Project Title	Project Summary
HaPAI/2015/AN	"Financial Security in the Older Population in Ireland: Assessing the Impact of Austerity and Policy Change”	The aim of this research is to provide new evidence for policymakers and practitioners on the financial security of the older population in Ireland. The objectives of the research project are: To examine how various indicators of financial security differ across the older population (e.g. by age, sex, marital status, location, work history, socioeconomic status, health status, etc.). To examine the impact of the recent economic crisis (and associated policy changes) on the financial security of the older population. To examine how the older population compares with other cohorts of the population in relation to financial security. The research team will use data from TILDA and the 2013 Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS) to examine a broad range of financial outcomes for the older population.
Principal Investigator	Host Institution	Theme	Funding Awarded
Dr. Anne Nolan	Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI)	Security	€95,950

+ This project is part-funded by the Health Research Board

The HSE will be announcing the second funding call of the HSE Research Awards on Ageing in Q1 2017. The successful projects will be awarded in 2017.

Please contact the HSE Research Awards on Ageing project team if you would like further information on the second funding call: hapai@hse.ie.