Abstract
The Romani are the main European ethnic minority. The Romani people’s situation of social vulnerability and their difficulties accessing the health system make their health indicators worse than those of the non-Romani population. The present study will delve into health beliefs, and experiences with health services and professionals, through the perspectives of Romani women. In this qualitative study, 16 women of different ages were interviewed in a city located in the South of Spain. Four themes emerged from the analysis of the data: the construction of the identity of Romani women, difficulties in life, health and disease beliefs and barriers to accessing the health system. We conclude that every project for the improvement of the health of the Romani community must take into account the active participation of Romani women and must consider the principles of Cultural Safety, by delving into the intercultural training of health professionals and addressing the social determinants of health which affect the Romani collective.
Highlights
The Romani population is the main European minority in Europe
We focused on the living conditions of Romani women, their traditions and cultural values with respect to health, and their experiences with health services and health professionals
The present study presented an emic perspective of the Romani women (RW) about their own role in the community and their relationship with the health system
Summary
Spain has the largest Romani population in Western Europe: approximately 800,000 individuals. The autonomous community with the largest population of Romani is Andalusia, with an estimated population of 290,000 individuals, followed by Catalonia, with 90,000, Madrid with 70,000, and the Valencian Community with an estimated population of 58,000 Roma people [1]. The Romani collective is very diverse [2]; age, sex, economic status, place of residence, family, type of formal education, type of employment, ideology, religious beliefs, etc., can have an influence on the degree of identification of each person with what could be denominated “Romani identity” and the daily reality in which they live. In a comparative study on the situation of the Romani population in Spain, related to employment and poverty [3], we find some interesting data that could help us address the reality of this collective. The Spanish Romani population is very young as compared to the non-Romani population; 45% are younger than 16 years old, and the rate of birth is 64 per
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