1. Professor Frank Kee UKCRC Centre of Excellence for Public Health NI
Queen’s University Belfast
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2. NICOLA - Overview
Stratified random sample of ~8500 men/women aged 50+ in Northern Ireland
Longitudinal : Repeated measures every 2-4 years for a period of >10 years
Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) plus self-completed questionnaires- social, behavioural, economic and environmental aspects of ageing
Health Assessment – Functional/biological markers
Omnibus panel study with longitiudinal follow up of large cohort.
NICOLA will:
Aid social inclusion – give the over 50s a voice
Capture attitudes and expectation - influence the creation policies driven by behaviour
Place NI in the network of existing longitudinal ageing studies – TILDA/ ELSA/ HAGIS / CHANCES etc…(capitalize on comparators)
Maximize research impact through integration of research excellence across disciplines in QUB (and other HEI – knowledge economy)
Establish longer term relations with policy makers – maximizing influence into and from the wave approach
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3. NICOLA – Wave 1 – CAPI
CAPI home interview collects data on social, behavioural, economic, and environmental aspects of ageing, for example:
Socio-economic and socio-demographic factors
Self-reported physical health, cognitive health
Health behaviours
Help and helpers
Health and social care utilisation
Medication use
Social participation
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4. NICOLA – Wave 1 – SCQ and HA
Self-completed questionnaires:
Diet (including food frequency, healthy eating), mental health (including PTSD and Troubles-related trauma), loneliness, physical activity, use of ICT, personality
Health Assessment:
Anthropometry (e.g., height, weight, waist & hip measurements)
Cardiovascular, cognitive/mental health, and respiratory function
Physical function (e.g., grip strength, gait & balance)
Visual function (including imaging)
Biological samples
Omnibus panel study with longitiudinal follow up of large cohort.
NICOLA will:
Aid social inclusion – give the over 50s a voice
Capture attitudes and expectation - influence the creation policies driven by behaviour
Place NI in the network of existing longitudinal ageing studies – TILDA/ ELSA/ HAGIS / CHANCES etc…(capitalize on comparators)
Maximize research impact through integration of research excellence across disciplines in QUB (and other HEI – knowledge economy)
Establish longer term relations with policy makers – maximizing influence into and from the wave approach
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5. NICOLA complements NI’s ageing strategies
NICOLA takes a similar approach to the Active Ageing Strategy and Delivering Social Change, for example:
It looks at ageing from different perspectives (i.e., ‘joined-up’)
It is focused on the long-term
It aims to understand the impact of inequalities on ageing
It values input from non-academic stakeholders
NICOLA also maps onto the Programme for Government (PfG) priorities, for example:
Examines attitudes to social environment, social capital
Assesses legacy issues, and mental health and wellbeing
Can evaluate the impact of HSC and Welfare reform (e.g., caring needs/responsibilities over time)
NICOLA’s design allows us to examine the mechanisms (biological, psychological, social, environmental) of ageing from a multi-disciplinary perspective (i.e., a joined-up approach as advocated by the Active Ageing Strategy and the Delivering Social Change framework)

6. Example 1: Employment/retirement
NICOLA can provide the following information:
Characteristics of those economically inactive
Reasons for inactivity (e.g., made redundant, retirement, gave up work to care for spouse/partner/relative)
If retired, at what age, whether they planned to retire, reasons for retirement, etc.
How this impacts on finances, social engagement, health, housing, etc.
We will follow up with questions about renewed economic activity after retirement in later waves
All of the above can be provided as sub-group analysis (e.g., by age group, gender, socioeconomic group, region [urban/rural], etc.)

7. Complementarity with other studies
NICOLA designed to be complementary to TILDA - provide an ‘all-Ireland’ perspective of the social, behavioural, economic, and environmental aspects of ageing for those living on the island of Ireland
Also been designed to complement ELSA
Places Northern Ireland in the network of existing longitudinal ageing studies such as TILDA, ELSA, and HAGIS

8. Linkages
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