LIFE EXPECTANCY for Traveller men is 15 years lower than for men in the general population, a new study has found.
The All Ireland Traveller Health Study, which took three years to complete and involved more than 10,500 Traveller families across the island, was funded jointly by the departments of health on both sides of the Border.
The study found Traveller men live on average 61.7 years – the life expectancy of Irish males in the 1940s. Compared to the general population, their life expectancy has decreased by five years since in 1987. The study also found that suicide rates are nearly seven times higher in Traveller men than in the general population.
While the life expectancy of Traveller women has increased to 70, this is still 11.5 years lower than women in the general population.
The health of Traveller women has improved, however, with an uptake of cervical screening that is higher than, and an uptake of breast screening that is similar to, the general population.
The main causes of death in the community were heart disease, cancer and lung disease. Social determinants such as accommodation, education, employment, poverty, discrimination, and access and use of services were also factors.
The study, chaired by Cecily Kelleher of UCD’s school of public health, trained more than 400 Travellers to conduct research in their own communities. Prof Kelleher said the 80 per cent response rate was “unprecedented”.
At the study launch, Minister for Health Mary Harney said: “This study has benefits that go beyond health to education, housing and employment.”
Commending Travellers for the high participation rate, she said the report had some obvious conclusions that needed to be quickly translated into policy. She said there was a need to target campaigns specifically for Travellers, engaging Traveller men in particular to seek help.
Traveller primary care health worker Missie Collins, who addressed the event, said she was “sad and disappointed that many of us are dying too young”.
“We need to start working on men’s health and we can’t do that on fresh air. Funding is vital.”
Martin Collins, assistant director of Pavee Point, an organisation supporting human rights for Travellers, urged the Minister to maintain Traveller community development programmes, saying primary healthcare work wouldn’t exist without them.
The study showed the population profile of the Traveller community, which numbers about 40,000, is similar to developing countries, with a high birth rate, two-thirds of the population under 25, but with fewer older people.
The results also showed that just under half of all Travellers feel discriminated against, with six out of 10 experiencing discrimination at school. The least discrimination was experienced in sport.
Only half of Traveller adults had completed primary school, with three out of 10 having difficulty reading. However, more than 90 per cent of all 14-year-olds are now in school training schemes.
In her proposals, Prof Kelleher said all Traveller children must be supported to obtain their Junior Cert and that a gendered strategy on mental illness was a priority.
61.7
The average life expectancy of male Travellers
70
The life expectancy of Traveller women
40,000
The estimated Traveller population
