The Irish TravellersDenis BrosnanCarol Donohue

Four Week Placement in Galway Traveller Movement.

Closely linked with the Primary Health Care workers, conducting health promotion workshops, attended diabetes and suicide workshops.

Involved in Outreach programmes, planning questionnaires for future amendments.

Travellers are an indigenous ethnic group with their own language, culture , and with a nomadic tradition (Our Glees ,2010).

Travellers ethnic is recognised worldwide but not by the Irish Government (CERD,2005). There are 22,369 Travellers in the republic (CSO, 2007).

Travellers feel more secure with other travellers and tend to marry within their own community (Pavee Point,2005).

Today most travellers children enrole in secondary school and 63.3% drop out by 3th year (Walker,2008).

Travellers don’t value education, as they are unlikely to get highly paid jobs through education.

Literacy is a barrier to understanding written health appointments and instructions on medication (DOE ,2006).

Travellers have shorter life expectancy the average life expectancy than the general population (Our Glees,2010).

Birth mortality rates in 2008 were 3.7 times higher than in the sedentary population (Hamid et al 2011).

Travellers have higher rates of physical and mental illness (Our Glees, 2010).

40% of travellers suffer from metabolic syndrome, twice the rate of the sedentary population (Slattery et al, 2010).

Over 50% of travellers to don’t have confidence in health care professionals.

Only 69% of travellers were registered with a GP. (Peters at al, 2009).

Suicide is 6 higher of the general population and accounts for 11% of all travellers deaths(Walker, 2008).

Travellers are organised and actively campaign for equal rights and to influence legislation.

• Pavee Point• Irish Traveller Movement• Primary Health Care

Recommendations Visit Organisation prior to placement.

Organise a lecture on traveller culture by a traveller.

Organise a field trip to a halting site during placement rather then working from office.

Research into traveller culture.

References:

Central statistics office Online [Accessed on 3th October 2011] http://www.cso.ie/census/census2006results/volume_5/vol_5_2006_complete.pdf

European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, ECRI (2001) Second Report on Ireland. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.

Hamid, N.Kelleher, C. & Fitzpatrick , P. (2011) Journal of Epidemiol Community Health. Methods and measurement: Traveller infant mortality is persistently higher than the general population in the All Ireland Traveller Birth Cohort Study; 65(29).

Ireland. Department of Health and Children (2002). Traveller health: A national strategy. Dublin: Stationery Office.

Pavee Point (2005). National strategy for action on suicide prevention.

Peters, J. Parry, G.D. Cleemput,P.V., Moore,J. Cooper,L.C, Walters, J.S ( 2009) ‘ Health and use of health services: a comparisions between gypsies and travellers and other ethnic groups’  Ethnicity and Health 14 (4) p. 359-377

Our Glees (2010) All-Ireland Traveller Health Study, Dublin: University College Dublin.

Slattery, D. Canny, C. Sweeney, K. Ward, M. O’Sea, P, Dunne, F. (2010) ‘Cardiovascular health in the irish traveller  community’ The British Journal of Diabetes and Vascular Disease 10 (6) p. 306-307 Walker, M. (2008) Suicide amongst Irish Traveller community 2000 – 2006.Wicklow: Wicklow County Council.

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