Working with Gypsy, Roma, Traveller communities

The health status of Gypsies and Traveller communities is much poorer than that of the general population:

• Life expectancy is 10 to 12 years for individuals is less than that of the non-Traveller population ¹
• 42% of English Gypsies are affected by a long-term condition, as opposed to 18% of the general population ²
• 1 in 5 Gypsy Traveller mothers will experience the loss of a child, compared to one in a hundred in the non-Traveller community.³

The QNI Homeless and Inclusion Health Programme has a special interest group running on Gypsy, Traveller and Boater health with an aim to improve health for these communities. We are working closely with Friends, Families and Travellers in convening this special interest group, and also recommend their website as a key resource.

Other websites that you may find useful:

1. The Traveller Movement 
2. Leeds Gypsy & Traveller Exchange Gate 
3. Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre 
4. Roma Support Group 

Categories on this resource page are:

• Background Information
• Advice and Guidance for Health Professionals
• Mental Health
• Domestic Violence
• Needs Assessments
• Covid-19 guidance
• Management of Unauthorised Encampments

Background information

• Parliamentary briefing paper – Gypsies and Travellers – 2019
• Qualitative Health Research – Engaging GRT communities in research – 2019
• House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee – Government and Ofsted response to the Committee’s Seventh Report of Session 2017–19 – 2019
• House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee – Tackling inequalities faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities Seventh Report of Session 2017–19 – 2019
• The Traveller Movement – The last acceptable form of racism? The pervasive discrimination and prejudice experienced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller – 2017
• Bournemouth Uni PhD – Experiences of Vulnerability from a Gypsy/Travelling Perspective: A phenomenological study – 2015
• Inclusion Health Board – Hidden Needs Identifying Key Vulnerable Groups in Data Collections: Vulnerable Migrants, Gypsies and Travellers, Homeless People, and Sex Workers – 2014
• Public Health Research – Outreach programmes for health improvement of Traveller Communities: a synthesis of evidence – 2014
• Friends, Families and Travellers – Attitudes to medical records sharing in the Gypsy and Traveller community – 2014
• Anglia Ruskin University – Gypsy, Traveller and Roma: Experts by Experience – Reviewing UK Progress on the European Union Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies – 2014
• Journal of Research in Nursing – Social Exclusion of Gypsies and Travellers: health impact – 2010
• University of Bristol, Buckinghamshire New University, Friends Families and Travellers – Inequalities experienced by Gypsy and Traveller communities: A review – 2009
• Ethnicity and Health Journal – Health and use of health services: a comparison between Gypsies and Travellers and other ethnic groups – 2009
• London Network of Nurses and Midwives – Moving on: Does Every London Traveller and Gypsy Child Matter? – 2008
• Department of Health Inequalities in Health Research Initiative – The Health Status of Gypsies & Travellers in England – 2004

Advice and Guidance for Health Professionals

• Department of Health Policy Research Programme – Gypsy, Roma and Traveller access to and engagement with health services: a systematic review. – 2018
• University of Dundee – Enhancing Gypsy, Roma and Traveller peoples’ trust using maternity and early years’ health services and dental health services as exemplars of mainstream health service. – 2018
• Journal of Public Health – Improving immunization uptake rates among Gypsies, Roma and Travellers: a qualitative study of the views of service providers – 2020
• Improving vaccination uptake in Gypsy, Roma and Traveller and other inclusion health groups via the World Health Organization (WHO) Tailoring Immunisation Programmes (TIP) Model – 2019
• Friends, Families and Travellers – No room at the inn: How easy is it for nomadic Gypsies and Travellers to access primary care? – 2019
• Friends, Families and Travellers – Experiences of Gypsies and Travellers in primary care: GP services – 2019
• Friends, Families and Travellers – Sunbed use and skin care in Gypsy and Traveller communities – 2019
• Hospice UK, Friends, Families and Travellers et al – Care committed to me – Delivering high quality, personalised palliative and end of life care for Gypsies and Travellers, LGBT people and people experiencing homelessness – 2018
• Friends, Families and Travellers – A guide for professionals working with Gypsies, Roma and Travellers in Children’s Services – 2017
• BMC Public Health – Needles, Jabs and Jags: a qualitative exploration of barriers and facilitators to child and adult immunisation uptake among Gypsies, Travellers and Roma – 2017
• National Federation of Gypsy Liaison Groups – Improving health outcomes for Gypsy Roma and Traveller (GRT) communities (PPT presentation) – 2016
• Friends, Families and Travellers – Report of the National Gypsy and Traveller Health Inclusion Project 2012-15 – 2015
• Friends, Families and Travellers – Gypsy Traveller Health Reading List – 2014
• Health Expectations – ‘You likes your way, we got our own way’: Gypsies and Travellers’ views on infant feeding and health professional support – 2014
• RCGP – Improving access to health care for Gypsies and Travellers, homeless people and sex workers – An evidence-based commissioning guide for Clinical Commissioning Groups and Health & Wellbeing Boards – 2013
• Journal of Psychological Issues in Organizational Culture – Developing the Cultural Competence of Health Professionals Working with Gypsy Travellers – 2013
• NHS City and Hackney – Traveller Voices – FAQs on the Cultural Identity and Health Needs of Gypsy Travellers – 2009
• Friends, Families and Travellers – Fair Access for all? Gypsies and Travellers in Sussex, GP Surgeries and Barriers to Primary Healthcare – 2010
• Friends, Families and Travellers – Gypsies’ and Travellers’ experience of using urgent care services within NHS Brighton and Hove boundaries April 2008 – August 2009
• Cambridgeshire Community Services and Ormiston Children and Families Trust – Insight into the Health of Gypsies and Travellers – A booklet for Health Professionals in Cambridgeshire – 2008

Mental health

• Friends, Families and Travellers – A research paper: Suicide Prevention in Gypsy and Traveller communities in England – 2020
• Friends, Families and Travellers – Written submission: Gypsy, Roma and Traveller men and mental health – 2019
• Friends, Families and Travellers – Gypsy and Traveller thoughts around wellbeing – 2014
• NHS Cambridgeshire et al – Cambridgeshire Traveller Mental Health Report – 2011
• Derbyshire Gypsy Liaison Group – Report of the Community – Led Research Project Focussing on the Emotional Health and Well-being Needs of Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers – May 2008
• Journal of Mental Health – Crossing boundaries. Identifying and meeting the mental health needs of Gypsies and Travellers – 2006
• Cambridge and Peterborough Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust – Improving mental health services for Travellers in Cambridgeshire – 2005

Domestic Violence

• Friends, Families and Travellers – Domestic Violence project – 2016

Needs Assessments

• Healthwatch Cambridgeshire – Our Health Matters Listening to Gypsy, Romany and Travellers’ health needs – 2016
• Healthwatch Cambridgeshire – Gypsy and Travellers health needs Report for Healthwatch Cambridgeshire – 2016
• Opinion Research Services – Essex Gypsy and Traveller and Travelling Showpeople. Accommodation Assessment on behalf of Essex Planning Officers Association – 2014
• Bath and North East Somerset Health Authority – Bath and North East Somerset Gypsy, Traveller, Boater, Showman and Roma Health Survey 2012-2013 A report prepared for Bath and North East Somerset Health Authority – 2013
• Irish Traveller Movement – The Health and Wellbeing of Gypsies and Travellers – 2012
• Cambridge County Council and Cambridge PCT – Joint Strategic Needs Assessment Cambridgeshire Travellers 2010 – 2010
• Salford Housing & Urban Studies Unit and University of Salford – Looking Back, Moving Forward Assessing the housing needs of Gypsies and Travellers in Essex – 2005

Covid-19 guidance

• Friends, Families and Travellers – Submission to Women and Equalities Committee Inquiry ‘Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the impact on people with protected characteristics’ – 2020
• Scottish Government – COVID-19 Response Planning Supporting Gypsy/Traveller Communities – A framework to support local authorities and their partners in local decision making – 2020

Management of Unauthorised Encampments

• Scottish Government – Guidance for Local Authorities on Managing Unauthorised Camping by Gypsy/Travellers in Scotland – 2017
• Welsh Government – Guidance on Managing Unauthorised Camping – 2013
• Cumbria – Joint Agency Protocol for responding to unauthorised Gypsy and Traveller Encampments. Final version – 2011

References:

1. Parry et al (2004) The Health Status of Gypsies and Travellers: Report of Department of Health Inequalities in Health Research Initiative, University of Sheffield
2. Royal College of General Practitioners, Improving access to health care for Gypsies and Travellers, homeless people and sex workers, September 2013
3. Ormiston Children and Families Trust and Cambridgeshire Community Services, An Insight into the Health of Gypsies and Travellers: A Booklet for Health Professionals in Cambridgeshire, 2008