Trinity Researchers Paint Brighter Picture of Health
Posted on: 04 December 2013
Trinity College Dublin researchers have been featured strongly in the recently published Health Research Board’s (HRB) annual Picture of Health report 2013. The publication looks at recent and exciting developments arising from health research funded by the HRB and in particular showcases research that will deliver improvements in people’s health, patient care and health service delivery.
One of the projects highlighted in the publication is the Intellectual Disability Supplement of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), led by Professor Mary McCarron, Professor in Nursing and Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences. The initiative is the first of its kind as until now, no country has managed to systematically study ageing over time in people living with intellectual disability (ID).
The study is capturing information about physical and mental health and social engagement among people living with ID in Ireland and initial results have already indicated that people ageing with ID show specific patterns of disease and should be given inclusive, rather than separate, consideration in mainstream policies affecting older adults.
12 Trinity-led research projects were featured covering a wide range of therapeutic, diagnostic and health policy areas. They demonstrate the depth and range of research projects taking place in Trinity that have the potential to directly improve treatments, patient outcomes and care and to support positive changes in health policy and practice. The featured projects include:
Cervical cancer screening research;
Breast cancer treatment compliance;
Diagnostic technology for throat muscles;
The impact of exercise on cancer patients’ health;
Giving children a say in decisions about their healthcare;
A better understanding of tuberculosis;
Predictive tests for therapies for Hep C patients;
A look inside the living brain in motor neuron disease
An immune link between belly fat and cancer
Research into asbestos related cancers;
A new look at ageing with intellectual disability;
Fine tuning national cancer screening programmes.