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There is emerging consensus that older opiate treatment patients have specific health and social care needs and also evidence of a particular stigma associated with opiate maintenance treatment. Yet, very little is known about the stigma experienced by individuals who have been interacting with methadone treatment services over a prolonged period. Conducted in Ireland and drawing on data from a qualitative study of 25 long-term clients of methadone treatment, this paper examines the stigma narratives of patients who are growing older as MMT patients. More than two-thirds were over the age of 40 and 16 had first accessed methadone treatment more than 20 years prior to taking part in the research. The findings reveal the omnipresence of stigma in participants' lives, which was experienced at institutional and public levels, leading many to attempt to conceal clinic attendance. Treatment-related stigma intersected strongly with the process of growing older on methadone; an ageing effect that was particularly apparent in participants' accounts of public and private shame. The disabling effects of multiple intersecting stigmas were perhaps most apparent in participants' narratives of internalized stigma, which uncovered private worlds characterized by isolation and seclusion. The findings presented reflect the marginal position of addiction treatment within the wider healthcare system in Ireland and a failure to normalize methadone treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As adults with intellectual disability (ID) in Ireland move to the community from residential settings, the changed environment is intended to increase opportunities for occupational engagement, autonomy and social relationships. It is important to consider how increased resources and opportunities available within the community can be optimized to promote engagement and quality of life. Aims: This paper investigates if and how ADL and IADL performance of people ageing with ID is related to place of residence. Methods: ADL and IADL performance of adults with ID in Ireland across different living situations was analyzed using descriptive and bivariate analysis of data collected from the Intellectual Disability Supplement to the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (IDS TILDA). Results: Greater ability to perform ADL and IADL was noted in those living in independent or community group home settings when compared to traditional residential settings. Place of residence was strongly related to ADL and IADL performance. Conclusion and significance: Given that people with ID will likely require physical and social supports to complete ADL and IADL when transitioning to community living from residential settings, an occupational justice perspective can inform occupational therapists working with people with ID, facilitating successful transitions to community living. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the fictional representation of ageing, dementia and migrant home care in Ireland in Oona Frawley's debut novel Flight (2014) and how the tropes of in/difference and silence best befit this representation. Drawing upon the tenets of literary gerontology and the Irish perspectives on ageing and dementia the analysis focuses on the multiple individual and community challenges the novel depicts – those of patients' and onlookers' perspectives, the fourth age and demise. Accordingly, the novel becomes the site of denunciation and interrogation of social and institutional responses to ageing and migrant home care. The analysis concludes that Frawley's fiction represents the potential of individual stories of ageing and care to envisage new futures within a global Irish society that is constantly changing. Ultimately, these stories are directly related to a wider social, historical, economic and political context in contemporary Ireland that enforces silence and in/difference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary health policy increasingly positions responsibility for the management of health with the individual which reflects newer neo-liberal discourses of health. Such an approach can be seen as problematic in the context of men's health, with men tending to be seen as largely 'irresponsible' towards their own health. This paper addresses this question by drawing on qualitative data on how men conceptualise responsibility for health. Whilst the desire to be responsible for health was borne by most of the men in the study, this was not always reflected in practice. There was also evidence of strategies that men adopted for either divesting themselves of responsibility for health or for legitimising lack of responsibility. In some instances, acting 'irresponsibly' was what defined participants as 'real men'. The implications of these findings for men's health policy are discussed with specific reference to the recent publication of Ireland's National Men's Health Policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between loneliness and cognitive functioning, and whether depressive and anxiety symptoms have intermediate roles therein. Methods: Information about 7,433 participants of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (a prospective, representative cohort study), aged over 50, was collected at three time-points two years apart, and analysed using Structural Equation Modelling to assess whether depressive and anxiety symptoms mediate the relationship between loneliness and cognitive functioning. Cognitive functioning was measured as a latent factor, with four indicators: measures of immediate and delayed word recall, verbal fluency, and a global measure (the MMSE). Loneliness was measured using the UCLA Loneliness scale, depressive symptoms using the CES-D-ML scale, and anxiety symptoms using the HADS-A scale. Results: Loneliness at time-point 1 predicted cognitive functioning at time-point 3, β = −0.103, p < 0.001, and depressive (β = 0.426, p < 0.001) and anxiety (β = 0.410, p < 0.001) symptoms at time-point 2. Depressive (β = −0.020, p = 0.001) but not anxiety (β = −0.000, p = 0.658) symptoms mediated the relationship between loneliness and cognitive functioning, total effect: β = −0.123, p < 0.001. Conclusion: The relationship between loneliness and cognitive functioning is in part explained by its relationship with depressive symptoms. Statistically, the mediation model helps us understand possible mechanisms through which loneliness impacts cognitive functioning. Results have implications for cognitive functioning interventions for older adults, and imply that loneliness is also a worthwhile target for intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study examines the role of philanthropic funding in building capacity for aging research in Ireland, and how this investment has addressed the lack of evidence to support planning for an aging population. The funding has supported a range of initiatives including the national longitudinal study on aging (TILDA), the creation of three professorships/chairs, and the establishment of four new research centers. Important potential outcomes are emerging across other domains including research-informed policy development and the generation of health benefits. The efforts of academic researchers to ensure that their findings are readily accessible to end users and to forge robust working relationships with all stakeholders have helped to enhance the use of research findings. Overall, philanthropy has played a pivotal role in building capacity, infrastructure, and expertise in academic settings in Ireland. Moreover, this work provides an excellent example of how such efforts can begin to inform effective planning and service provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author of this conceptual article was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to travel to the United States, Ireland, and United Kingdom to meet with researchers, practitioners, and community agencies and review how support for people with intellectual disability is provided. A specific focus was upon provision of care for individuals who were either ageing or requiring palliative care. The project took place from June to August 2013 and involved face-to-face interviews and site visits with key academics, government representatives, and community providers in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, New Jersey, Dublin, Edinburgh, London, Oxford, Cambridge, Bath, Bristol, Birmingham, and Stoke-on-Trent. A priority was placed upon examining how the key features of leading practice models could be implemented within the Australian environment featuring a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). On the basis of the observations of practice, key points are discussed regarding the potential for improvements to the support of people with intellectual disability within the Australian context of the NDIS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study used data from eight focus groups involving 58 people aged over 65 years in both urban and rural settings across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Following training, four older people assisted in facilitation and analysis as peer researchers. Increasing lack of respect within society was experienced as abusive. The vulnerability of older people to abuse was perceived as relating to the need for help and support, where standing up for themselves might have repercussions for the person’s health or safety. Emotional abusiveness was viewed as underpinning all forms of abuse, and as influencing its experienced severity. Respondents’ views as to whether an action was abusive required an understanding of intent: some actions that professionals might view as abusive were regarded as acceptable if they were in the older person’s best interests. Preventing abuse requires a wide-ranging approach including rebuilding respect for older people within society. Procedures to prevent elder abuse need to take into account the emotional impact of family relationships and intent, not just a description of behaviors that have occurred. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Affective inequality is neglected in the study of old age. Using an egalitarian analysis, this article shows how affective inequalities matter to older women. Findings from the first author's PhD study explain the emotional significance of affective inequalities for Irish women. Twenty-one in-depth interviews were conducted to obtain data about experiences and perceptions of inequalities and how they had an impact on older women's well-being. Thematic analysis revealed that women experienced inequalities in old age as devaluation, obligations, exclusion, and misrecognition (DOEM), and they experienced injustices in areas of their lives that were largely outside of their control. Affective inequality implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]