{"id":1194,"date":"2014-09-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-09-19T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/%20rroma.org\/19-09-2014-european-commission-rroma-health-status-worse-than-the-rest-of-the-population-is-it-really-true\/"},"modified":"2022-08-04T11:42:06","modified_gmt":"2022-08-04T10:42:06","slug":"19-09-2014-european-commission-rroma-health-status-worse-than-the-rest-of-the-population-is-it-really-true","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rroma.org\/fr\/19-09-2014-european-commission-rroma-health-status-worse-than-the-rest-of-the-population-is-it-really-true\/","title":{"rendered":"19.09.2014 European Commission: Rroma health status worse than the rest of the population \u2013 Is it really true?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In early September, the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEuropean Commission (2014) has published a new study, which analysed the health \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tof Rroma in the European Union. The study comes to the conclusion that members \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tof the minority face more difficulties when trying to access health \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tinstitutions, mainly due to the Rroma marginalisation. Women are particularly \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\taffected by poorer health care. Furthermore, life expectancy is said to be much \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tlower than among other population groups, while at the same time the average \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tage is significantly lower than in the European majority populations. With \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tregard to infectious diseases, the survey found a lack of comprehensive, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\treliable research. However, some studies show an increased rate of infectious \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdiseases among Rroma, which is thought to be connected to a lack of vaccination \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tof the Rroma children. The proportion of chronic diseases (asthma, diabetes, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tcardiovascular diseases, and high blood pressure) is significantly higher among \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe minority, the report states. Regarding a healthy lifestyle, the available \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tinformation is said to be inadequate. The data available suggests that the Rroma \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tlifestyle is less oriented towards an better health than compared to the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tmajority population. Rroma are particularly affected by the economic crisis, which \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfinds expression in an more difficult access to health care. The generally \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpoorer health is thereby connected with a lower education rate, poorer \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tinfrastructure, and with greater unemployment among Rroma populations of the EU, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tit is claimed. The study repeatedly points to the lack of available data on the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thealth status of Rroma in the European Union. Nevertheless, it comes to clear findings. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFrom the Rroma Contact Point viewpoint, the authors of study questions far too \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tlittle whether investigated Rroma were already marginalised and therefore \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\trelatively easy contactable persons for a research or whether they were \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tintegrated ones, who are generally ignored in such researches. Many Rroma are \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tintegrated, keep their identity a secret and are therefore difficult to contact \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfor such a study. These integrated, invisible Rroma, which have generally good \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thealth, seem not to have been considered for this study, which cast doubts on \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe representativeness of the results. The authors themselves state a lot of \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tuncertainties regarding the proportions of the Rroma population in Europe: \u201cThe debate over the size of the Roma \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpopulation is a direct consequence of the lack of clarity regarding Roma \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tidentity, as it makes counting the Roma difficult or even impossible. [\u2026] As a \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsequence, it is impossible to make use of random sampling in research. A \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tgeneral lack of statistical data on the situation of Roma in all sectoral \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfields makes the planning, design, monitoring, and evaluation of policy and \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tprogrammes difficult if not impossible. It is not possible to identify Roma \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tethnicity from national surveys, national demographic data or any kind of \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tnational health statistics\u201d <\/em>(European Commission 2014: 35). With this \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfinding, the authors question the reliability and representativeness of their \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\town study. While it is clearly important that health issues that are the result \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tof exclusion and marginalisation are identified as such and fought against, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthis study also raises the question of the production of a negative image of \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe minority, which can be exacerbated by such research and then be exploited \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tby politicians (compare EurActiv 2014, Meunier 2014).<\/p>\n