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Dr. Irina Kinchin

Research Associate Professor (Trinity Inst. of Neurosciences (TCIN))
Research Associate Professor (Medical Gerontology)
      
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Dr. Irina Kinchin

Research Associate Professor (Trinity Inst. of Neurosciences (TCIN))

 IRINA.KINCHIN@tcd.ie

 

Research Associate Professor (Medical Gerontology)


Dr Irina Kinchin is a Research Associate Professor at the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience (TCIN) within the School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, and faculty and Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI). Her research focuses on outcomes that matter to people with complex needs, how they are measured and valued within health economics, and how they can inform policy, practice and research, particularly in the context of brain health and ageing. Dr Kinchin currently leads Valuing Vanishing Voices: creating empowerment and inclusion in health economics as Principal Investigator on a Wellcome Career Development Award. Through longitudinal and creative approaches, co-design, and the development of the VOICE toolkit, this programme seeks to transform how health economics measures, values and understands quality of life for people living with dementia and to develop more inclusive approaches to outcome measurement that can be adapted across brain health research and practice. Prior to joining Trinity College Dublin, Dr Kinchin held research positions at the University of Technology Sydney, Central Queensland University and James Cook University in Australia. Her work has spanned Indigenous health, mental health, ageing, palliative care and dementia, alongside partnerships with policymakers, healthcare services, community organisations and people with lived experience. She serves as Associate Editor of Quality of Life Research and the International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care, and contributes to international research assessment through roles with NIHR Programme Grants for Applied Research, the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), iHEA and ISPOR. Her work is grounded in the belief that people whose voices are least often heard should help shape the evidence used to inform policy, practice and resource allocation.
  ALZHEIMER'S DEMENTIA   DEMENTIA   DEMENTIA SERVICES   DEMENTIA, NEURODEGENERATIVE   Dementia/ Alzheimer's Disease   EARLY ONSET DEMENTIA   ECONOMIC ANALYSIS   ECONOMIC EVALUATION   health outcomes research   LEWY BODY DEMENTIA   MENTAL HEALTH   Older Adults - dementia, human and technology supports   Older Adults - ageing in place, dementia, aging and technolo   Palliative and end of life care   Palliative Care and Dementia   PARKINSONISM-DEMENTIA
Project Title
 Is Ireland prepared for the new disease-modifying therapies (DMT) for Alzheimer's? Scoping perspectives and attitudes of lay stakeholders (Academic Partner)
From
2023
To
Ongoing
Summary
There hadn't been a new Alzheimer's drug treatment for two decades until 2021, when the first disease-modifying therapy (DMT) was introduced in the USA, providing hope for slowing or even reversing Alzheimer's. The anticipation of more DMTs is high. However, integrating DMTs into Ireland's health system requires substantial changes in Memory Clinics due to the high costs of these drugs and the necessity for careful monitoring. Notably, DMTs are effective only in early-stage Alzheimer's, a phase often undetected in Ireland. To ensure our health system is prepared for DMTs, this project will seek public perspectives on DMTs through a survey of Irish residents, recognizing that public opinion plays a significant role in healthcare advancements.
Funding Agency
Irish Research Council
Project Title
 Setting research priorities for Lewy Body Dementia in Ireland (Principal Investigator)
From
2023
To
Ongoing
Summary
Despite being the second most common dementia type, Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) is under-recognized and under-researched in Ireland. This project seeks to highlight LBD by determining key research needs, promoting improved care strategies for LBD patients and caregivers. Using the reputable 'Priority Setting Partnership' (PSP) technique aligned with James Lind Alliance (JLA) methodologies, we will identify crucial LBD research gaps. This will directly foster future trial development within DTI. Setting these research priorities will guide the range of dementia trials for LBD and offer dementia patients and caregivers a chance to influence their care's priorities. This will enable a more personalized, value-driven research strategy that informs healthcare planning.
Funding Agency
Dementia Trials Ireland
Project Title
 Measures of wellbeing for use in economic evaluation: valuing and assessing health outcomes in Ireland (Principal Investigator)
From
2020
To
Ongoing
Summary
In Ireland, healthcare decisions primarily concentrate on maximising health gain. However, with more integrated social care, there is growing recognition that this perspective is too narrow. Health maximisation is unlikely to be the only relevant objective, particularly where demand for social care is high. This project explores a 'beyond health' approach to policy and priority setting in dementia and at the end-of-life.
Funding Agency
Health Research Board
Project Type
Postdoctoral Fellowship 2020 'Applying Research into Policy & Practice (ARPP)
Project Title
 Developing tool to assess needs of dementia carers for economic evaluation (Principal Investigator)
From
2022
To
Ongoing
Summary
This project is pioneering the development of a self-assessment instrument to holistically assess impacts on informal caregivers of people living with dementia to inform policy and research. Community-based caregivers have been particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Social isolation, closure of care facilities and lack of carer support due to the pandemic has left many caregivers lonely, burnt-out, physically vulnerable and at risk of short, medium and longer-term negative outcomes.
Funding Agency
Global Brain Health Institute, Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's Society
Project Title
 Do EQ-5D valuations differ in palliative care settings? A discrete choice experiment (Principal Investigator)
From
2021
To
Ongoing
Summary
This research aims to understand if the general public's attitudes to health are different when considered in the context of palliative care. This study proposes to contribute to the growing literature on the prioritization of health care by exploring the valuation of EQ-5D-5L in palliative situations using a discrete choice experiment (DCE). Palliative situations will be described and contextualized using a vignette model of presentation, developed by a 3-stage iterative process, including exploratory qualitative work with PPI/PPV, expert panel discussion, and pilot testing. This study is being carried out among the general public in Australia, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
Funding Agency
EuroQol Research Foundation

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Details Date From Date To
General Committee Member of the Health Policy Professional Interest Area (PIA) Executive Committee of the Alzheimer's Association International Society to Advance Alzheimers Research and Treatment (ISTAART) 2025
Founding member, Economics of Dementia and Brain Health special interest group, Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) 2022 Ongoing
Member, INTERDEM Taskforce: Inequalities in Dementia Care, pan-European network on Early detection and timely INTERvention in DEMentia 2022 Ongoing
Member, Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) 2021 Ongoing
Member, Family Carer Research Group, Care Alliance Ireland 2021 Ongoing
Member, UK Health Economists Study Group (HESG) 2019 Ongoing
Member, International Health Economics Association (iHEA) 2015 Ongoing
Gorman, A., O'Brien, T., May, P., Kinchin, I., McCallion, P., McCarron, M., Ryan, C., Connors, H., Craig, S., Daly, L., Harnett, A., Sheerin, F., Yap, M.L., Smith, S., O"Donovan, M-A. & McMahon, M., Addressing Age-Related Complexity in Intellectual Disability (AARC-ID): an economic analysis of different support models. Study protocol., HRB Open Research, 2025, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Kinchin Irin, Jiang Peiwe, Street Debora, Norman Richar, Currow Davi, Agar Meer, Normand Charle, Johnston Bridge, May Pete, Viney Rosali, Mulhern Brenda, Does context matter? A discrete choice experiment investigating the impact of palliative context on EQ-5D-5L health state valuation, Quality of Life Research, 34, 2025, p2865 - 2877, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
Gorman, Ashleigh, Level of support framework for older adults with intellectual disability, International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Special Interest Research group - Health, Greenwich, London, UK1, 1-3 Sept 2025, 2025, Oral Presentation, PUBLISHED
Gorman A, Kinchin I, O'Brien T, McCallion P, McCarron M, May P, Harnett A, Connors H, McMahon M, Developing and assigning level of support needs to older adults with intellectual disability aged 40 years and older, Trinity Health and Education, Trinity College Dublin, 5th and 6th March 25, 2025, Poster, PUBLISHED
Joseph Clark and Sungwon Chang and Irina Kinchin and Diana Ferreira and Slavica Kochovska and Deidre Morgan and Leanne M. Poulos and Miriam J. Johnson and Magnus Ekström and David C. Currow, Lower workforce participation is associated with more severe persisting breathlessness, BMC Pulmonary Medicine, 22, (1), 2022, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Irina Kinchin, Sean Kelley, Elena Meshcheriakova, Rosalie Viney, Jennifer Mann, Fintan Thompson, Edward Strivens, Cost-effectiveness of a community-based integrated care model compared with usual care for older adults with complex needs: a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised trial, Integrated Healthcare Journal, 2022, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Anna Brugulat-Serrat and Yaohua Chen and Naiara Demnitz and Aya Ashour and Emily Adrion and Stefania Ilinca and Irina Kinchin and Arianna Almirall-Sanchez and Didem Öz and Wambui Karanja and Maritza Pintado and Nicole Rogers and Anne Browning and Ieva Petkuté, Roadmap for change in sex and gender inequities in brain health: A global perspective, International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 37, (5), 2022, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Kinchin, I., Mitchell, E., Agar, M., Trépel, D., The economic cost of delirium: A systematic review and quality assessment, Alzheimer's & Dementia, 2021, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Jacups, S.P., Kinchin, I. , A rapid review of evidence to inform an ear, nose and throat service delivery model in remote Australia, Rural and Remote Health, 21, (1), 2021, p5611-, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Disalvo, D., Agar, M., Caplan, G., Murtagh, F., Luckett, T., Heneka, N., Hickman, L., Kinchin, I., Trethewie, S., Sheehan, C., Urban, K., Cohen, J., Harlum, J., Long, B., Parker, T., Schaefer, I., Phillips, J. , Virtual models of care for people with palliative care needs living in their own home: a systematic meta-review and narrative synthesis, Palliative Medicine , 2021, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
  

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Award Date
Wellcome Career Development Award, Wellcome, UK 2026
Editor of Distinction Award, Quality of Life Research 2026
Trinity Research Doctorate Group-Based Award, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland 2025
Trinity Research Doctorate PI-Based Award, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland 2023
Aurora Women in Leadership, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland 2022
Health Research Board Fellowship 'Applying Research into Policy & Practice', Health Research Board, Ireland 2020
Atlantic Fellowship, Global Brain Health Institute, The Atlantic Philanthropies 2019
Vice-Chancellor's Research Publication Recognition Award, Central Queensland University, Australia 2017
Vice-Chancellor's Teaching Award for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning, James Cook University, Australia 2015