Posted 13 October 2008
The first all-island study of Traveller health begins
A major study examining the health status of Travellers throughout the island of Ireland has begun. The research will assess Traveller health and the factors associated with it, including the impact of current health services on Traveller health and the degree to which the community's socio-economic circumstances, culture and lifestyle impacts on their health.
Pictured far right (l-r): Mary Brigid Collins, Primary Health Care Worker, Pavee Point; the Minister for Health and Children, Ms Mary Harney, TD; and Missie Collins, Community Health Worker, Pavee Point.
The findings from the study, jointly funded by the Department of Health and Children, Ireland, the Health Service Executive and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, Northern Ireland, and with the support of Traveller organisations and FAS, will provide a framework for policy development and practice in relation to Traveller health.
Pictured at the launch: (back row l-r) Dr Philip Crowley, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health and Children; Jill Turner, Project Director, UCD; Brigid Quirke, Assistant Project Director, UCD ; Missie Collins, Public Health Care Worker, Pavee Point; Claire Kelly, Project Researcher, UCD; Professor Cecily Kelleher, Head of the UCD School of Public Health and Population Science, who is leading the Traveller Health project; (front row l-r) Minister for Health and Children, Mary Harney TD; and Mary Brigid Collins, Co-ordinator for Peer Researchers.
“I am delighted to have jointly commissioned this study with our partners in Northern Ireland,” said the Minister for Health and Children, Ms Mary Harney TD. “It is the culmination of considerable work undertaken in consultation with Traveller organisations, health service providers and other interest groups.”
“Traveller health has been a priority area for health services over many years and this has led to a considerable investment in traveller health infrastructure. The findings from this study will provide evidence and insights to inform future policy and service provision.”
“This study is for, with and by Travellers” said Professor Cecily Kelleher, Head of the UCD School of Public Health and Population Science, who is leading the research. “We have had over a year of detailed consultation and planning to get to the fieldwork stage and now have a really remarkable electronic questionnaire to ensure the best quality information can be collected with nearly 10,000 families across the country. We hope quite literally to give Travellers themselves a voice in their future health”.
The Traveller Health research project is led by University College Dublin, in collaboration with researchers from the School of Nursing at Dublin City University.
The first Travellers to take part in the study will be interviewed on Tuesday 14 October 2008. With laptops and online questionnaires, researchers will visit the Travellers in their own community to collect information related to their health status.
To ensure that all Travellers have every opportunity to fully participate in every stage of the data collection, Traveller organisations from across the country have been working with the Traveller community to inform all Travellers of the importance of this major study. The researchers hope that all individuals who self ascribe themselves as Travellers will volunteer to take part in the study to provide a full-comprehensive census of the Traveller population in Ireland.
