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Health service use and outcomes in later life: an examination of urban and rural health inequalities in Northern Ireland.
Safe People
Ulster University
Academic Institute
Michael Rosato
Safe Projects
E049
That more people are able to live into very old age is one of the great achievements of our society. However, with age comes greater levels of illness and disability and the need to find more effective ways to keep people healthy for longer and to provide health and social care more efficiently and equitably. Our study aims to examine possible differences in the provision of services for older people across NI and to see if living in rural or urban areas makes a difference to the treatment and the outcomes for patients in these different locations. We also seek to examine healthcare access, treatment and outcomes for people living with dementia and how these might differ from other people without dementia. The findings of this study will inform health and social care policy and practice. We will highlight areas of need for policy development in order to reduce hospital admissions and improve clinical pathways.
This project aims to address several fundamental challenges to Health and Social Care policy and practice in NI. First, there is a growing elderly population with a commensurate rise in demand for health and social care; Second, as people are living into old age, the numbers of people living with dementia are set to increase, so that one third of people who reach the age of 80 years will have some form of dementia; Third, along with aging and dementia, multi-morbidities will rise, adding to the pressure on services to deliver more effective and efficient healthcare. There is a need for better evidence on the treatment and outcomes for people with dementia who also have other life-limiting conditions. Fourth, the distribution of services in NI, remains a problematic issue for government policy and service design. However, while differences in service access and outcomes between rural and urban populations are widely believed to exist, there is a lack of strong evidence in this area. Fifth, while there is an increasing use of pharmacological treatments for people with dementia (e.g. anti-psychotics to manage agitation and anti-depressants), concerns have been raised about their appropriateness and potentially damaging effects.
04/09/2019
Safe Data
Safe Setting
TRE