Health status of Gypsy Travellers.
BACKGROUND
Although previous studies suggest that Gypsy Travellers have poorer health status and excess mortality compared with the general population, there is no epidemiological evidence using validated measures in this nomadic ethnic group. The aim of this study was to compare the health status of traditional Gypsy Travellers with norms from the UK population, and with a concurrent comparison group using the Euroqol health status measure (EQ-5D).


METHODS
Eighty-seven adult Gypsy Travellers were matched for age and sex with English or Irish residents, registered with an urban general practice in an area of high social deprivation. Both samples completed the EQ-5D questionnaire by interview. A comparison was also made with normative data from the UK general population.


RESULTS
Travellers had poorer health status than their settled counterparts on two of the five dimensions (mobility and activity) but not on the overall summary score. Travellers reported significantly poorer health than the matched comparison group on the EQ-5D visual analogue scale. Both the Travellers and the comparison group had much poorer health status on the EQ-5D index than the UK population norms, even when compared with the lowest socioeconomic group.


CONCLUSIONS
Health status of Gypsy Travellers was significantly poorer than in the lowest socio-economic UK population group, but was not so markedly different from a concurrent, matched, socially deprived resident group. Gypsy Travellers did have poorer health status than matched comparators in relation to mobility, activity and perception of overall health. Quantitative assessment of health status in the Traveller community is feasible.
Van Cleemput
P
P
Research and Development Directorate, Community Health Sheffield NHS Trust. pvancleemput@yahoo.co.uk
Parry
G
G
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006285:Health Planning; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000592:standards; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance; D006178:Romani People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014171:Transients and Migrants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*