Results of the Study
The All Ireland Traveller Health Study is the first systematic study of Travellers’ health in 23 years. The final report of the study was published by Minister for Health and Children Mary Harney (external link to the Department of Health and Children) on September 2, 2010.
Launch Day
The launch of the study was a significant day for the participants in the study; some 400 Travellers from around Ireland, mostly women, acted as peer researchers for the study. On launch day, the participants were represented by Missie Collins, one of the founders of the Pavee Point Primary Health Care for Travellers Programme, and therefore one of the founders of the national network.
After the launch, the Peer Researchers, and those responsible for co-ordinating the study, were honoured at University College Dublin in a ceremony of recognition.
Minister’s address
Speaking at the launch, which was attended by statutory and voluntary Traveller interest groups from both Northern Ireland and the Republic, the Minister thanked the Traveller community in Ireland, frontline health service providers and Professor Cecily Kelleher, head of the School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Population Science in UCD and her team for carrying out a comprehensive study of the health status of Travellers in Ireland over the past three years. She said “Traveller health continues to be a priority and considerable work has already been undertaken in this area. This commitment is reflected in the significant resources allocated to the commissioning of this study.
“The findings will provide a framework for policy development and practice in relation to Traveller health.”
See Missie Collins’ address to the Minister:
See the Minister’s address to launch the Health Study report:
More about the Study
This page documents the findings of the study, and contains video and visual resources in order to support the mission of disseminating the results.
Press Releases and Summaries of Data
Department of Health and Children Press Release (External Link)
The release sent to newspapers on 1 September 2010 for the launch (Contains smaller summary of findings)
Pavee Point Summary of Findings (PDF)
The release of key findings sent to journalists on 2 September 2010
Video Overview of the Results
This video outlines in some detail some of the key findings of the study. It’s a good general overview of the study. For ease of use, we’ve divided the video into three parts: Context, Findings and Where Next. You can view them here.
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Part One: Context | |
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Part Two: Findings | |
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Part Three: What Next |
Full text of the study findings
These documents are provided in PDF format, and each is a substantial download.
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Summary of Findings |
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Technical Report 1: Health Survey Findings.
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Technical Report 2:
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Technical Report 3:
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Media
Most key coverage from the national newspapers was captured by the Pavee Point Media Monitor.
There were radio interviews given by participants with local and regional radio stations across the country, and nationally on Today FM (The Last Word), Newstalk and RTÉ’s Drivetime Programme
Irish Times
Traveller men are now living 15 years less than men in the general population, a new study has found.
The All Ireland Traveller Health study, which took three years to complete and encompassed over 10,500 Traveller families across the whole island, was jointly funded by health departments on both sides of the Border.
The study found that Traveller men live on average to the age of 61.7, a life expectancy equivalent to Irish males in 1945.
Irish Independent
THE life expectancy for men in the Travelling community is just 61 years — the same as it was more than two decades ago, a major report warned yesterday.
This is 15 years less than men in the general population, signalling a widening gap since the last study into the health of the Travelling community in 1987, the Department of Health report revealed.
“This is equivalent to the life expectancy of the general population in the 1940s,” according to the all-island study, which also involved researchers from UCD and Northern Ireland.
Irish Examiner
A study will be launched later today on the health of Travellers in Ireland.
It looked at areas including health services available to the Travelling community, their health needs and life expectancy.
It is believed to expose wide gaps between services for Travellers’ health and the general population.
Institute of Public Health
IPH welcomes publication of the All-Ireland Traveller Health Study
Images from the Launch Day
