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About NICOLA

What is NICOLA?
NICOLA is the "Northern Ireland COhort for the Longitudinal study of Ageing"

Life expectancy is rising in Northern Ireland. It is predicted that 1 in 4 children born here today will celebrate their 100th birthday. While this trend is good news, by 2048 almost half of the population will be aged over 50 years, thus posing many challenges for our society and policy makers. For example: how can we best maintain and maximise independence and the health and wellbeing of older people?, how do we organise and fund the delivery of care services for older people and make adequate pension provision? and what are the consequences for the labour market and employment with an increasing population of people reaching the conventional retirement age? In 2012, NICOLA was set up to - explore why and how certain social, economic and biological factors are changing the lives of older people - to understand how health, lifestyle, financial circumstances and wellbeing change with age - to understand what it is like to grow older in Ireland. Our motto is…….“Understanding today for a healthier tomorrow ...”