Technical Report - Donegal Traveller's Project

All Ireland Traveller Health StudyThe factors which cause social need and exclusion do not always fit comfortably within the areas ofresponsibility of individual Departments. Through the PSI (2002) element of the New TSN, Departmentswork together - and with partners outside Government - to tackle factors which contribute to socialexclusion and to improve the life circumstances of groups at risk of social exclusion. As part of PSI, workis already ongoing to prevent and tackle social exclusion among Travellers.The following are some findings (specific to the Traveller community) in the New TSN:• There is clear evidence of deprivation and poor health among Travellers.• Long-term unemployment is a problem, with only 1 in 10 Travellers in paid employment.• There is a high illiteracy level among Travellers and 92% have no GCSEs or equivalent.• Travellers have generally poor living conditions – they are 8 times more likely than the generalpopulation to live in crowded accommodation.• Child mortality up to age 10 has been found to be 10 times that of the population as a whole.• On average, Travellers die about 15 years earlier than the general population. Only 1 in 10 of theTraveller population is over 40 years of age and only 1 in 100 is over 65.• Further work needs to be carried out on developing good indicators for health inequalities; forinstance, better ways of measuring the gap in health status between minority ethnic groups, e.g.Travellers, and the rest of the population (1999 New TSN and PSI working groups).Investing for Health 2002The Northern Ireland public health strategy ‘Investing for Health’ was published in 2002 (Departmentof Health, Social Services and Public Safety, 2002). The strategy contains a framework for actionthat is based on a multi-sectoral partnership working amongst Departments, public bodies, localcommunities, voluntary bodies, district councils and social partners.The key aims of the strategy are to improve life expectancy across the population and to reduce healthinequalities. The strategy has a particular focus on the most disadvantaged in Northern Ireland.‘Health is an outcome that results from a whole range of influences in everyday life. Inequalities in thesedeterminants are responsible for inequalities in health’.‘Investing for Health’ goes on to say that ‘differences in social and educational opportunities’ are stronglyimplicated in the occurrence of these inequalities. (Department of Health, Social Services and PublicSafety, 2002).18