Pictured (l-R) Professor Cecily Kelleher, Minister Mary Harney TD, Ms. Missie Collins, Traveller Primary Health Worker, and Mr. Martin Collins, Pavee Point
The Minister for Health & Children, Mary Harney TD officially launched the findings of an All-Ireland Traveller Health Study at an event in Dublin on 02 September 2010.
The Department of Health and Children in conjunction with the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland commissioned researchers from University College Dublin to conduct the three-year study.
The aim of the study was to examine the health status of Travellers on the island of Ireland, to assess the impact of the health services currently being provided and to identify the factors which influence health status.
“Traveller health continues to be a priority and considerable work has already been undertaken in this area,” said Minister Harney. “This commitment is reflected in the significant resources allocated to the commissioning of this study. The findings will provide a framework for policy development and practice in relation to Traveller health.”
The Minister acknowledged the unprecedented level of engagement by the Traveller Community in the three-year study, both as peer researchers and as participants. She noted that ‘the findings are more robust and more useful to policy makers and service providers as a result.’
One of the key findings is that Travellers of all ages continue to have much higher mortality rates than people in the general population, with Traveller men now living on average 15 years less than men in the general population and Traveller women living on average 11.5 years less than women in the general population.
Deaths from respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases and suicides were more markedly increased in Travellers compared to the general population. The suicide rates among Traveller men were identified as 7 times higher than suicide rates among men in the general population.
Among the positive results from the study were evidence of good access to health services and improvements in Traveller women’s health.
According to Professor Cecily Kelleher, Head of the UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Population Science who lead the study, this is the single largest and most comprehensive study on Traveller health ever conducted in Ireland.
“Using innovative new methods, Travellers themselves, together with frontline service providers, worked with researchers to collect the data,” said Professor Kelleher.
“UCD trained 80 study coordinators from Traveller projects as trainers, who trained 400 Traveller peer researchers from over 50 Traveller organisations and Primary Health Care for Traveller projects around the country. This helped achieve an unprecedented participation rate of 80%.”
The study estimates a total Traveller population of 40,129 (36,224 in the Republic of Ireland and 3,905 in Northern Ireland). It also estimates that the average family size in the Republic of Ireland is 4 and 2.5 in Northern Ireland.
For more see:
Shorter life expectancy and higher suicide rates among Travellers, study shows (UCD News)
