| Staff Details | ||||
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| Personal Information | ||
| Name | Cahill, Suzanne | |
| Main Department | School of Social Work & Social Policy | |
| College Title | Research Assoc Prof/Director DSIDC | |
| suzanne.cahill@tcd.ie | ||
| College Tel | ||
| Web | http://people.tcd.ie/cahillsu | |
| Fax | 35318963240 | |
| Biography | |
| Dr Suzanne Cahill is a Research Senior Lecturer and Director of the DSIDC's Living with Dementia research programme based in the School of Social Work and Social Policy at Trinity College. She is also an Adjunct Associate Professor of Social Work and Social Policy at the University of Queensland, in Australia. She has a background in Social Policy, Social Work and Research having graduated from University College Dublin in 1976 with a B. Soc. Science and later (1983) with a Masters Degree in Social Science. In 1985 she received a Council of Europe Scholarship to attend the University of Stockholm where she was awarded a Diploma in Social Studies (1986). In 1991, she was awarded a Scholarship from the University of Queensland (in Australia) to write her PhD on the topic of Dementia, Family Caregiving and Social Policy. Dr Cahill has served on many different committees both in Ireland and in Australia, campaigning for the rights of older people particularly those with a dementia. She was for some 8 years an active member of the Queensland Branch of the Alzheimer’s Association where she also served as Vice President. More recently in Ireland, she has been a member of HIQA's Working Group on Residential Care Standards and in 2007 was joint Chair of the HSE's National Working Group on Dementia. She is also a member of InterDem, the North Sea Dementia Group, and the Scientific Committees of the International Psycho-geriatric Association and Alzheimer's Europe. Dr Cahill has published nationally and internationally on ageing and dementia-related topics. She is currently the lead Principal Investigator on the new Dementia Strategy research project, being funded by the Atlantic Philanthropies and leading to the identification of key priorities for inclusion in the government’s development of an Irish National Dementia Strategy. This work is being undertaken in collaboration with Professor Eamon O'Shea from NUI Galway. | |
| Representations |
| Details | Date |
| Chair of National Dementia Advisory Committee | 2010-2011 |
| Steering Committee Member Trinity Consortium in Ageing | 2008-2010 |
| Working Group Member on Restraint in Designated Centres for Older People (Department of Health and Children) | 2010 on |
| Working Group Member (HIQA) on the National Quality Standards for Residential Care Settings for Older People | 2007-2008 |
| Chairperson and Member of Working Group (HSE) on Residential Services for the Person with Dementia | 2006-2007 |
| Membership of Professional Institutions, Associations, Societies |
| Details | Date From | Date To |
| Interdem Member | 2005 | |
| The Gerontological Society of America |
| Languages |
| Language | Skill Reading | Skill Writing | Skill Speaking |
| French | Fluent | Medium | Basic |
| Swedish | Basic | Basic | Basic |
| Description of Research Interests |
| My research interests are in the area of (i) Social Policy and Dementia, (ii) GPs, Diagnosis, Disclosure and Alzheimer's disease, (iii) End of Life and Dementia Care Standards (iv) Quality of Life and (v) Family Caregiving. I have published articles and book chapters on these topics nationally and internationally. The LiD programme of Research of which I am Director, is a coherent package of post-graduate psycho-social research in dementia. The programme which supports 5 full time PhD students is underpinned by three main themes namely (i)the therapeutic effects of group living for people with dementia, (ii)the subjective experiences of people diagnosed with dementia and (iii)training and educational needs of health service professionals. The programme aims to tackle the marginalization of people with dementia and overcome some widespread misconceptions held in society about Alzheimer's Disease and the related dementias. Ultimately the programme aims to enhance practice and service provision and to improve quality of life for all those diagnosed with dementia and their family caregivers. Inherent in the philosophy underpinning the programme is the belief that psycho-social interventions in dementia care make a real difference and can improve quality of life in people diagnosed and reduce caregiver burden. The programme also seeks to impact on policy development and contribute to the design of best practice models |
| Research Projects | |
| Project title | Creating an Evidence Base to Develop a National Dementia Strategy for Ireland |
| Summary | The objective of this project is to provide the research evidence base to inform the Department of Health and Children in its development of a National Dementia Strategy. The project is being undertaken in collaboration with Professor Eamon O'Shea, from the National University of Ireland, Galway. The project involves identifying, reviewing, interpreting and synthesizing all relevant research data pertinent to developing an Irish Dementia Strategy. |
| Funding Agency | The Atlantic Philanthropies |
| Programme | |
| Type of Project | Research Review |
| Date from | October 10 |
| Date to | December 11 |
| Person Months | |
| Project title | The Development of an End of Life Care Standard for People with End Stage Dementia |
| Summary | Although a myriad of disparate standards have been developed for older people in long stay care (i) nursing home, (ii) residential, (iii) death and dying, (iv) palliative care, (v) end of life, and (vi) bereavement, no specific standard has to date been developed for the provision of End of Life care to people with dementia. The aim of this study is to contribute to improving quality of life for people with end stage dementia living in residential care settings across Ireland. This will be done by investigating the experiences of elderly spouses whose relatives have recently died with dementia in long stay care and using the data collected to develop an all Ireland standard for quality care in end stage dementia in nursing homes. |
| Funding Agency | CARDI |
| Programme | |
| Type of Project | Exploratory Qualitative Research |
| Date from | June 2009 |
| Date to | Sept 2010 |
| Person Months | |
| Project title | Post-Graduate research in dementia care |
| Summary | The purpose of this grant is to support a programme of research on dementia designed to contribute to the development of timely responsive and accessible interventions for people diagnosed with dementia and their family caregivers. The research programme also seeks to impact on policy development and contribute to the design of best practice models for all those affected by dementia. |
| Funding Agency | The Atlantic Philanthropies |
| Programme | |
| Type of Project | |
| Date from | 2006 |
| Date to | 2011 |
| Person Months | |
| Project title | ENABLE: European research on technology and dementia |
| Summary | Enable was a European follow up study on technology and dementia carried out in five countries, Norway, Ireland, the UK, Finland and Lithuania. It was funded by the European Commission under the programme for Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources. The overall aim of ENABLE was to investigate whether it was possible to facilitate more independent living for people with mild to moderate dementia and promote their quality of life by installing in their homes assistive technologies and subsequently by evaluating these interventions over a twelve month period. |
| Funding Agency | EU Award |
| Programme | Programme for Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources |
| Type of Project | |
| Date from | March 2000 |
| Date to | June 2004 |
| Person Months | |
| More Research Projects>>> | |
| Publications and Other Research Outputs |
| Peer Reviewed |
| Connolly S, Gillespie P, O’Shea E, Cahill S, and Pierce M., Estimating the economic and social costs of dementia in Ireland. , Dementia: The International Journal of Social Research and Practice, 2012, p1 - 18 DOI |
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| Pierce, M., Cahill, S. & O'Shea, E., Planning dementia services: New estimates of current and future prevalence rates of dementia for Ireland, Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine, 2012 | |
| Suzanne Cahill, Daphne Doran and Max Watson, Guidelines for nursing homes delivering end-of-life care to residents with dementia across the island of Ireland, Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, 13, (1), 2012, p60-71 Url TARA - Full Text DOI |
| Non Peer Reviewed | |
| Dementia and Quality of Life Issues in Older People in, editor(s)Phellas, Constantinos , Aging in European Societies, 2012, [Ponce-Diaz, A. & Cahill, S.] | |
| Suzanne Cahill, Eamon O’Shea & Maria Pierce, Creating Excellence in Demetia Care, Dublin, Ireland, January, 2012, 1-168 TARA - Full Text | |
| More Publications and Other Research Outputs >>> | |
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