Gypsies and Travellers: cultural influences on health

Abstract

In comparison to other population groups in the UK, the health of Gypsies and Travellers is among the worst in the country. The government's current agenda to reduce unacceptable inequalities in health through far-reaching, cross-cutting and costly measures is still not making a significant difference. If improving the health of the worst off and most marginalised members of society is to be achieved, then there has to be personalised and tailored health service provision to specific target population groups. This is unlikely to be effective without identifying the factors that contribute to their poor health status and understanding specific cultural values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours relating to health. To this end, a research study was undertaken among a group of Gypsies and Travellers. Nine women were interviewed initially, and a further three to validate emerging theory. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using grounded theory methodology. This article focuses on several key factors identified that help explain the inequitably poor health status of Gypsies and Travellers. These include having a fatalistic outlook on life and health, the relationship between fatalism and stress, the culture of passing health-related information from one generation to the next that can perpetuate 'unhealthy' practices, and the difficulty in saying 'no' to children.