Health-related beliefs and experiences of Gypsies and Travellers: a qualitative study

Objective: To illuminate findings of the survey of the health status of Gypsies and Travellers by exploring their health-related beliefs and experiences.

Design: Qualitative study of a purposive subsample from in-depth interviews using framework analysis.

Setting: The homes or alternative community settings of the participants in five geographically dispersed study locations in England.

Participants: 27 Gypsies and Travellers with an experience of ill health, purposively sampled from a larger population participating in an epidemiological survey of health status.

Results: The experience of poor health and daily encounters of ill health among extended family members were normalised and accepted. Four major themes emerged relating to health beliefs and the effect of lifestyle on health for these respondents: the travelling way; low expectations of health; self-reliance and staying in control; fatalism and fear of death. These themes dominated accounts of health experience and were relevant to the experience. These themes add richness to the health status data and inform our understanding.

Conclusions: Among Gypsies and Travellers, coherent cultural beliefs and attitudes underpin health-related behaviour, and health experiences must be understood in this context. In this group, ill health is seen as normal, an inevitable consequence of adverse social experiences, and is stoically and fatalistically accepted. The provision of effective healthcare and improvement of poor health in Gypsies and Travellers will require multi-agency awareness of these issues.