The Health Needs of Gipsy and Traveller Community in the UK - Case Study Example

THE HEALTH AND HEALTH NEEDS OF GIPSY AND TRAVELLER COMMUNITY IN THE UK By Location Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Abstract 3 Introduction 3 Background 4 Methodology 4 Discussion 5 1)Life expectancy and mortality 5 2)Poorer health than general UK population and other deprived groups 5 3)Chronic health problems and multiple health needs 6 4)Maternal health and women’s health 6 5)Mental health 7 6)Palliative care 7 7)Government health policies 8 Conclusion 8 Recommendations 9 References 10 Appendix 14 The Health and health needs of Gipsy and Traveller community in the UK Abstract This report aims at investigating the health and health needs of Gypsies and Travellers. That data that was used in the development of this report were collected through the document and literature review. The report states that Gypsies and Travellers have poorer health than the general UK population and other deprived groups. They have high mortality rates and low life expectancy. These communities also experience high rates of mental illnesses, chronic diseases, and maternal related health diseases. The report concludes that these problems are caused by the government’s negligence, their culture, their ways of life, and the nature of their interaction with health care providers. The report recommends that the government should give more consideration of these communities when making health related policies. The communities should also be sensitized of the health risks that they face. The report also recommends that the living conditions of these communities are improved. They should also be encouraged to adopt permanent settlement. Introduction Gypsies and Travellers refer to the communities in the United Kingdom who lead a nomadic lifestyle. As nomads, they are expected to face various health threats in their daily lives. Some of the health problems that they experience are even intensified by their way of life. There are very many ways in which their health problems that they face are different from those faced by the general population (Cemlyn, Greenfields, Burnett, Matthews and Whitwell 2011, p.97). This can be a result of various factors. This makes it necessary for a research to be carried out to look at the various health problems that are faced by these communities. This report is based on a research that was carried out to find out the actual health problems that gypsies and travellers face in their daily lives. Background There are various factors that are believed to contribute to the various health problems that Gypsies and Travellers face in the United Kingdom. These factors include their culture. Culture can affect how people from certain communities respond to health care services. It also affects how communities view health care services. The problems can also be attributed to by their way of life. Being nomads, they are likely to face certain health risks that are not faced by the general population. The conditions of the sites that they live in might also be a cause of some of their health. This would be in consideration of factors such as hygiene, access to clean waters, and sanitation (Carnwell & Buchanan 2004, p. 187). The health care system will also be viewed to see if they are designed in a way that makes such communities disadvantaged in the United Kingdom. Government policy can also affect how these communities are able to access healthcare services and facilities throughout the United Kingdom. Methodology The data used in the compilation of this report were mainly collected through document and literature review. Given the time allocation the two were the most effective ways of coming up with a completely reliable research report. This was also facilitated by their way of life which means that studying them through ways such as observation would be costly and time consuming. In the development of this report two types data were reviewed. These were: locals and regional data; and national and comparative data. Regional and local data were analysed through document review. The main aim was getting demographic information in terms of size, composition, and location of the Gypsies and Travellers in various regions. Data on previous projects and events were also reviewed. The national data that were reviewed include best practice perspectives of health and social requirement of Gypsies and Travellers. Discussion 1) Life expectancy and mortality Studies have proved that Gypsy and Traveller population in the UK have a lower life expectancy as compared to the general population. Gypsy and Traveller women were discovered to have a life expectancy that was 12 years less, while the male one had a life expectancy 10 years less than the general population. The studies suggest that the lower life expectancy can be attributed to their way of life. In the year 2005 only 3% of Gypsies and Travellers in Leeds had attained age of 60 years and above. At the same time the life expectancy of the general population was at 78 years. The study also reveals that Gypsies and Travellers living in private or council site, and had access to adequate health carehave life expectancy very close to that of the general population (Royal College Of Physicians Of London, Connelly & Crown 1994, p.105). The infant mortality rate of this group was also discovered to be three times higher than that of the general population. Premature deaths were also higher than that of the general population. 2) Poorer health than general UK population and other deprived groups When health outcomes of Gypsies and Travellers were compared to those of the general population, it was noted that their health outcomes were poorer. The outcomes were even poorer thanthose of the English-speaking minorities. Studies have it that Gipsies and Travellers have a higher probability of getting ling term sicknesses. This factor was also discovered to negatively affect their work and daily activities. They also have more problems with self-care, mobility, anxiety or depression, pain or discomfort, and usual activities. Respiratory problems such as chest pain, asthma, self-reported anxiety, and bronchitis were discovered to make the highest health inequality between Gypsies and Travellers and the general population (Bhopal 2014, p. 112). These health complications were discovered to be about five times higher among Gypsies and Travellers as compared to the other ethnic groups. However, there were no inequalities in health complications such as stroke, cancer, and diabetes. 3) Chronic health problems and multiple health needs Gypsies and Travellers were also discovered to have multiple and chronic health complications. While the general population had 18% of its population having chronic and multiple health complications, theirs was at 42%. This is in accordance with the population census that was carried out in the year 2001. 4) Maternal health and women’s health There are various studies that have been carried out with regard to the maternal health in the UK. Most of the women who died as a result of maternal complication were discovered to have had a difficulty in accessing antenatal services. A big percentage of these women were also noticed to be coming from the Gypsies and Traveller communities. Women from Gipsies and Traveller communities have limited access to maternity services. There are various reasons that can explain this limited access to maternal facilities. Studies show that they resistant to such activities and recorded a very poor attendance rate (Williamson & Desouza 2007, p. 117). This can be attributed to the nature of their relationship with the maternal health providers, most of who come from the majority communities. 5) Mental health Gypsies and Travellers have exhibited a rate of mental illness that is higher than that of any other ethnic groups in the UK. This can be because of the high level of deaths and bereavement in these communities. This will even be intensified by their way of life. Gypsies and Traveller communities live in close-knit social structures. This means that a sudden loss of a family member can be a devastating experience. This can be used to explain the high rates of suicidal and parasuicide tendencies among these communities (Carnwell & Buchanan 2004, p.193). This might also be as a result of the possibility that local health services might not be working well for them. Discrimination in terms of training, education, and information might also have led to the big gap in mental health between the gypsies and the travellers and the general population. 6) Palliative care It has been realized that there is a gap in palliative care provision for Gypsies and Traveller. This was particularly proved to be true with English Romany Gypsy Travellers. Many hospitals in the UK tend to overlook the needs for terminally sick Gypsies and Travellers. This factor is exacerbated by the current laws in the UK. The law in question is the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994. This means that many Gypsies and Travellers have to be highly mobile as a result of constant evictions from sites. Due to the enforced mobility these communities have a hard time accessing health care because of limited access to GPs thus making it hard to organize programmes of palliative care to support Gypsies and Travellers who would wish to die at home (Thane & Filby 2010, 89). Health professional at most hospitals were also found to have little or no understanding of the Gypsies and Travellers. 7) Government health policies There are health provisions in the UK that are meant to make medical services more responsive to the less advantaged population. However, even under such there is nothing mentioned about Gypsies and Travellers. The government is committed to decreasing the difference in mortality rates in the UK. For this to be successful, the gypsies and travellers, being among the communities with the highest infant mortality rates is supposed to be given thehighest priority. These rates of infant mortality can be linked to living conditions such as lack of access to clean water, poor sanitation, and bad conditions (Great Britain 2004, p.149). Many of the government initiatives fail to mention needing of Gypsies and Travellers. For instance, DH (2004a), Scottish Executive (2006), and DfES (2004) are initiatives that do not mention Gypsies and Travellers. Despite the fact that they refer to the needs of BME communities, there is very minimal attention paid to the needs of Gypsies and Travellers (Johnson & Willers 2007, p. 172). The failure of government policy to these needs might reflect in various ways to the invisibility of these communities. This makes it very hard for the healthcare system in the UK to completely take care of the health needs of Gypsies and Travellers. Conclusion It is clearly evident that Gypsies and Travellers face multiple health care problems. Even though the healthcare system is designed to cater for the less privileged, it does not really cater for the health needs of these communities. This can be attributed to many factors. The government has been reluctant in acknowledging the unique health needs of this community. Without this acknowledgement it is hard for the healthcare sector to be of complete service to the Gypsies and Travellers. There are even policies that have been put into place by the government that makes it harder for these communities to get effective health care. The research also proved that some of these problems are caused by their culture and way of life (Curtis 2004, p. 112). The nomadic lifestyle can be one of the other causes of the high rate of health problems among these communities. Another probable cause of these problems is the lack of good relations between these communities and healthcare service providers who mostly come from the general population. Recommendations There are various things that can be done make sure that Gypsies and Travellers face a reduced number of health problems. The first would be to increase the hygiene levels in the sites. This will help in reducing the rate at which they contract hygiene related illnesses. The government should also consider revising their policies to make sure that they match the needs and of all the people living in the UK including the Gypsies and Travellers. In their policies they should put into consideration the unique health needs of these communities. There should also be a civil education involving these communities to sensitize them on the health threats that they face and the importance of their cooperation with healthcare service providers for the sake of their own sakes. The government should also try to make sure that the sites that are built next to roads are moved further away from the roads. 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