Technical Report - Donegal Traveller's Project

All Ireland Traveller Health StudySuccessful primary health care projects have emphasised a process that valued empowerment,partnership and advocacy when designing and implementing health care interventions. This allowsthe partners to highlight inequity and negotiate solutions with their relevant partners. Communityparticipation and intersectoral collaboration are key requisites for the success of Primary Health Care.The following shows the application of these principles in the context of the PHCTP.The initial Primary Health Care for Travellers Project (PHCTP) was established as a joint partnershipinitiative with the Eastern Health Board (EHB) and Pavee Point. The project began as a pilot initiative inOctober 1994 in the Finglas/Dunsink areas of Community Care Area 6, with funding from the EasternHealth Board and had the following objectives:• To establish a model of Traveller participation in the promotion of health.• To develop the skills of Traveller women in providing community-based health services.• To Liaise and assist in creating dialogue between Travellers and health service providers.• To highlight gaps in health service delivery to Travellers and work towards reducing inequalities thatexists in established services (Pavee Point, 2006).Community ParticipationThe approach inherent in the project was to work with the Traveller community in order to develop aPrimary Health Care Project that is based on the Traveller communities’ own values and perceptions,and that will have long-term positive outcomes. In the context of the PHCTP, community participationis a process through which Travellers gain greater control over the social, political, economic andenvironmental factors that determine their health. Therefore the Traveller community participates inevery stage of the project: including the initial assessment of the situation, defining the main healthproblems and issues, setting priorities for the project, implementing the activities, and monitoring andevaluating the results.Intersectoral CollaborationFor Primary Health Care to be effective there must be close collaboration between the Travellercommunity, health workers, the health sector, the local authorities and a range of other statutory andvoluntary agencies. The PHCTP is a partnership project between Pavee Point and the Eastern HealthBoard. It brought together different strengths and resources, with Travellers, Traveller culture and acommunity development approach on one side, and resources, health skills, health services and healthknowledge on the other. This combination is essential for the effective implementation of a PrimaryHealth Care approach to the provision of health services.24