title: Gypsies and Travellers: their history, culture and traditions.
abstract: Gypsies and Travellers living in Britain today are culturally diverse and made up of differing groups. The aim of this paper is to describe the different groups and sub-groups, and look at similarities and differences between these groups while highlighting the discrimination and prejudice experienced by the Travelling community as a whole. Although there is no one culture common to all these groups, they share an ancient tradition of 'nomadism' and an oral tradition of passing on knowledge. Gypsies and Irish Travellers are recognised as ethnic minorities under the Equality Act 2010 and it is estimated that there are between 200,000 and 300,000 living in the UK. This paper offers an account of how a specialist health visitor working in the south Gloucestershire area has attempted to reduce prejudice and discrimination experienced by Gypsies and Travellers by raising awareness of their cultural issues. It will also focus on how to ensure services take into account the needs of Gypsies and Travellers.
authors.forename: Sheila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lally
mesh_terms: D003152:Community Health Nursing; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D024802:Nurse's Role; D011287:Prejudice; D006178:Romani People; D014171:Transients and Migrants; D006113:United Kingdom