Traveller Health: A Research Project to develop an Action plan for the Mid-Western Health Board

Abstract

Research has shown that Travellers do not share similar health status to the settled population. The 1996 Population Census showed that only 1.3% of Travellers were over 65 years compared to 11.4% of the general population while 75% of the Traveller population was aged under 25 years. This compares to an age pyramid of a developing country. Other alarming statistics of note include: • Traveller men live on average 10 years less than settled men; • Traveller women live on average 12 years less than settled women; • Infant mortality rate is 18.1 per 1000 live births compared to 7.4 per 1000 live births in the settled population; • The still birth rate in the Travelling Community is twice the national average; • The Sudden Infant Death rate is 12 times the national average. Thus, Travellers are now only reaching the life expectancy that settled Irish people reached in the 1940s. The importance of improving the health status of Travellers in Ireland has been placed high on the government’s agenda with the recent publication by the Department of Health and Children of ‘Traveller Health - A National Strategy 2002- 2005’. While past government policy has advocated assimilation of Travellers into the settled community, this resulted in a culturally inappropriate health service to meet the substantial health needs of Travellers. The new national strategy provides a new approach to dealing with Traveller health which is based on a community development approach which aims to empower Travellers to look after their health.