IGS Podcast

In this episode, Edel talks to Dr. PJ Harnett, Head of Integrated Care at Mowlam Healthcare. Dr. Harnett originally trained as a psychiatric nurse and over his career has gained healthcare leadership experience at local and national executive level in hospital and community services. His PhD was based on the design and implementation of integrated care for older people. He is a Senior Associate with the International Foundation for Integrated Care and an Associate Adjunct Professor at Trinity College Dublin.

They cover a range of topics including lessons in leadership, health system change and the Mowlam experience of implementing age-friendly health systems into residential and rehabilitation settings.

For more information on the discussion points mentioned in this episode:

• "A 10 Step framework to implement integrated care for older persons" https://researchrepository.ul.ie/entities/publication/f6fa1b6c-bf54-48ec-8ff6-585b70a5144a
• Delivering an Age-Friendly Health System – A Blueprint to Transform Health and Healthcare for Older Adults https://assets.gov.ie/static/documents/c3f509d8/Delivering_an_Age-Friendly_Health_System_-_A_Blueprint_to_Transform_Health_and_Healthcare_for_Older_Adults.pdf
• "Exploring the Age-Friendly Health Systems Framework in Memory Care Centres: A protocol for a mixed-methods study" https://hrbopenresearch.org/articles/9-30/v1

Feedback, questions and suggestions are always welcome at ⁠to [email protected]⁠

In this episode, Edel talks to Professor Des O’Neill, Dr. Gemma Carney and Dr. Neasa Fitzpatrick about Cultural Gerontology. Professor O’Neill is a Consultant Physician in Geriatric Medicine at Tallaght University Hospital and Trinity College Dublin. Dr. Carney is a lecturer in social policy and ageing in Queen’s University Belfast. Dr. Fitzpatrick is a specialist registrar in geriatric medicine and assistant professor in Trinity College Dublin.

They discuss cultural gerontology, depictions of ageing, ageism, intergenerational connections and lots more. They discuss thework and impact of the late Professor Davis Coakley and the background to the session named in his honour at the IGS annual scientific meeting.

For more information on the discussion points mentioned in this episode:

• Professor Davis Coakley Award submission information https://www.irishgerontology.com/events/73rd-annual-and-scientific-meeting
• Routledge Handbook of Cultural Gerontology

• The Lively Project (Dr. Gemma Carney) https://thelivelyproject.wordpress.com/about/
• Dementia in the Minds of Characters & Readers (Dr. Gemma Carney) https://blogs.qub.ac.uk/dementiafiction/
• “ Negotiating Care and Risk in Thelma (2024)” https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.70328 (Dr. Neasa Fitzpatrick, Professor Des O'Neill)

Feedback, questions and suggestions are always welcome at ⁠to [email protected]⁠

In this episode, Edel talks to Professor Sean Kennelly and Breda Comiskey. Professor Kennelly is a ConsultantPhysician in Geriatric & Stroke Medicine in Tallaght University Hospital (TUH) and leader in dementia care and memory services in Ireland. Breda is living with Alzheimher’s Disease and a strong advocate for supports and services forpeople living with this condition. Sean and Breda both feature on the recently released podcast series “Many Faces of Alzheimher’s Disease”. The podcast hosted by journalist Fionnuala McSweeney interviews different members of the multi-disciplinary team of the TUH Institute of Memory & Cognition (TIMC) as well as individuals living with Alzheimher’s Disease.

They discuss the TUH podcast series, understanding the condition from both the clinical and personal perspective, stigma, disease modifying therapies, the role of memory services, brain health, risk reduction and lots more.

For more information on the discussion points mentioned in this episode:

• Many Faces of Alzheimer’s Disease Podcast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxvV9tjKLSM&list=PLesNMSWFzNbRIOpoXuUHU3PLt1ohwx8r7
• “How prevalent are modifiable dementia risk factors in Ireland? A 12-year observational study in community-dwelling older adults” – Mc Garvey et al. 2025https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/11/e106032.long
• Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland https://alzheimer.ie/

Feedback, questions and suggestions are always welcome at ⁠to [email protected]⁠

Categories: 🟢 Mobility | 🔵 What Matters | ⚙️ Systems

In this episode, Edel talks to Louise Brent and Pamela Hickey about the Major Trauma Audit and the recent report specifically looking at major trauma in older adults.

Louise is the Head of Audit Management at the National Office of Clinical Audit (NOCA) and Pamela is the Audit Programme Manager, Trauma and Surgery at the National Office of Clinical Audit (NOCA).

They discuss the Major Trauma Audit, the profile and outcomes of older adults post–major trauma, the role of prevention and falls awareness, the importance of rehabilitation, and more.

For more information on the discussion points mentioned in this episode:

• Major Trauma Audit information:
  https://www.noca.ie/audits/major-trauma-audit/

• Major Trauma Audit Report focused on older adults (2017–2021, published June 2024):
  https://d7g406zpx7bgk.cloudfront.net/x/cbce911363/major-trauma-audit-report-focused-on-older-adults-2017-2021-final.pdf

• Management of Major Trauma in Older Adults – Clinical Guidance Document:
  https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/who/acute-hospitals-division/trauma-services/resources/management-of-major-trauma-in-older-adults.pdf

• NOCA Home Safety Resources:
  Active at Home:
  https://a.storyblok.com/f/265949/2126x3307/7bab60da44/ihfd-be-active-at-home-infographic-2021.png

  Home Safety:
  https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/noca-uploads/general/safety_message_3.png
  https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/noca-uploads/general/Safety_message_1.png

• Post-Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation Service Provision: A National Overview of HSE-Funded Services:
  https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/who/cspd/ncps/stroke/resources/post-acute-inpatient-rehab-service-provision-a-national-overview-of-hse-funded-services-full-report.pdf

The Irish Hip Fracture Database (IHFD) 2024 Report launch webinar will take place on 25 November 2025. Register here:
https://www.noca.ie/news-events/ihfd-national-report-2024-registration-open/

Feedback, questions and suggestions are always welcome at [email protected]

In this special episode, we celebrate the awarding of this year’s IGS Presidential Medal to Professor Rose Galvin, Professor of Physiotherapy and Co-Director of the Ageing Research Centre at the University of Limerick. Professor Galvin joins Edel to reflect on her journey from clinical practice to research leadership, her interest in applied health research in ageing and the impact of her research on health services and policy. She also shares her insights into the importance of mentoring, leadership and her vision for the future of ageing research.

For more information on discussion points:

• Prof Rose Galvin’s research outputs: https://pure.ul.ie/en/persons/rose-galvin
• IGS ASM 2025 more information: https://www.irishgerontology.com/events/72nd-annual-and-scientific-meeting\
• TILDA Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6iI7eUvwTiw5DXT6fQhrbg?si=b19a454a52684f73&nd=1&dlsi=a6b4c5a6265044c5
• TILDA Wave 6 Report: https://tilda.tcd.ie/news-events/2025/2512-Wave6-Key-Findings-Launch/
• Age Friendly Health Systems (AFHS) more info: https://www.ihi.org/partner/initiatives/age-friendly-health-systems/recognition
• AFHS Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Su8iAJlkh7TD5vNDJX3a2?si=007ca509e635494d =&nd=1&dlsi=39c8dbe5ef044bf2

Feedback, questions, suggestions always welcome to [email protected]

In this episode, Edel talks to Professor Simon Conroy and Dr. James van Oppen about Geriatric Emergency Medicine (GEM). They discuss their respective career paths to the specialty, changes and opportunities in the area, frailty screening, patient reported outcome measures and much more. To learn more about this topic, don’t miss the Geriatric Emergency Medicine session at this year’s IGS Annual Scientific Meeting in Killarney October 2nd-4th.

For more information from discussion points:  

•BGS Silver Book II: https://www.bgs.org.uk/resources/resource-series/silver-book-ii

•Prof Simon Conroy more information and publications https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/84336-simon-conroy/publications

•Dr. James van Oppen more information and publications https://www.researchgate.net/profile/James-Van-Oppen

•PROM discussed by James https://jpro.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41687-024-00796-8

•More information on this year’s IGS Annual Scientific Meeting ⁠https://www.irishgerontology.com/events/72nd-annual-and-scientific-meeting⁠

Feedback, questions, suggestions always welcome to [email protected]

In this episode, Edel talks to Professor Cathal McCrory, Dr. Ann Monaghan and Mary O’Shea from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). Each guest discuss their journey to TILDA and the day-to-day aspects of their role. Throughout the discussion the group highlight some of the interesting findings from the dataset and it’s real world impact. They discuss the international landscape of longitudinal studies and TILDA’s designation as a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Longitudinal Studies on Ageing and the Life Course. To hear more, don’t miss the TILDA session at this year’s IGS Annual Scientific Meeting in Killarney October 2nd-4th.

• For more information from discussion points:   More information on the TILDA Data Workshops https://tilda.tcd.ie/data-workshop/
• Publications & more information https://tilda.tcd.ie/publications/
• Previous IGS Podcast with Prof Rose Anne Kenny https://open.spotify.com/episode/1KSNr145MVb4MPpiWK5TFP?si=R4ADRlCoSj2jnaVHD2MxCQ
• For more information on this year’s IGS AnnualScientific Meeting https://www.irishgerontology.com/events/72nd-annual-and-scientific-meeting

Feedback, questions, suggestions always welcome [email protected]

In this episode, Edel talks to Professor Ken Rockwood. Professor Rockwood is a geriatrician, a professor of geriatric medicine at Dalhousie University and leads the Frailty and Eldercare Network fo Nova Scotia Health. As an international leader on frailty, he has more than 600 peer-reviewed publications and nine books to his credit. They discuss his career, understanding frailty, frailty assessment tools, hospital acquired deconditioning and lots more.

For more information from discussion points:

Feedback, questions, suggestions always welcome to [email protected]

In this episode, Edel talks to Seán Moynihan and Dr. Sarah Donnelly about a range of topics including ageing in place, loneliness, ageism and the work of ALONE. Sean is the CEO of ALONE (www.alone.ie) , a national organisation that enables older people to age at home. Dr Sarah Donnelly, previously worked as medical social worker and is now an Associate Professor in Social Work and Director of Graduate Studies in the School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice, in UCD. Sarah will present the ALONE Willie Bermingham lecture at this year’s IGS Annual Scientific Meeting.

For more information from discussion points:

Feedback, questions, suggestions always welcome to [email protected]

In this episode, Edel talks to Dr. Andrea Wershof Schwartz and Dr. Kirstyn James about Age Friendly Health Systems and the 4Ms – Mobility, Mentation, Medication and What Matters. Dr. Schwartz is a geriatrician at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Boston and Associate Director for Clinical Innovation in the New England Geriatric Research

For more information from discussion points:

Feedback, questions, suggestions always welcome to