Abstract
Purpose Participation in community programmes by the Roma community is low, whilst this community presents with high risk of poor health and low levels of wellbeing. To improve rates of participation in programmes, compatibility must be achieved between implementation efforts and levels of readiness in the community. The Community Readiness Model (CRM) is a widely used toolkit which provides an indication of how prepared and willing a community is to take action on specific issues. The purpose of this paper is to present findings from a CRM assessment for the Eastern European Roma community in Bradford, UK, on issues related to nutrition and obesity. Design/methodology/approach The authors interviewed key respondents identified as knowledgeable about the Roma community using the CRM. This approach applies a mixed methodology incorporating readiness scores and qualitative data. A mean community readiness score was calculated enabling researchers to place the community in one of nine possible stages of readiness. Interview transcripts were analysed using a qualitative framework analysis to generate the contextual information. Findings An overall score consistent with vague awareness was achieved, which indicates a low level of community readiness. This score suggests that there will be a low likelihood of participation in currently available nutrition and obesity programmes. Originality/value To our knowledge, this is the first study to apply the CRM in the Roma community for any issue. The authors present the findings for each of the six dimensions that make up the CRM together with salient qualitative findings.
Highlights
UK Government guidance promotes the use of tailored approaches to improve health and wellbeing and to identify approaches “which work best for local people and for specific population groups facing the greatest challenges” (Department of Health, 2011, p. 6)
The purpose of this paper is to identify the level of readiness in the Roma community to address issues related to nutrition and obesity, and to examine the specific dimensions from within the Community Readiness Model (CRM) in some depth
Our study has shown that efforts to address issues related to nutrition and obesity in the Roma community, when considered from the complex lens of the six dimensions of the CRM approach, are unlikely to be prioritised or embraced by the community
Summary
UK Government guidance promotes the use of tailored approaches to improve health and wellbeing and to identify approaches “which work best for local people and for specific population groups facing the greatest challenges” (Department of Health, 2011, p. 6). Children from the Roma community are at a high risk of nutrition-related illness and obesity. A key finding noted by Richards et al (2014) described cultural practices regarding food as a contributory factor for high levels of obesity. Loring and Robertson (2014) highlighted causal factors for high levels of obesity in Roma children to include budgeting problems and lack of cooking and storage facilities which impede healthy meal preparation. An EU commissioned report documenting various aspects of life in countries with large Roma populations identified nearly one-third of Roma children in Slovakia as obese, and in Hungary, physical activities amongst the Roma population was found to be less than that of those in the lowest income quartile of the general population (European Commission, 2014)
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