Gypsy/Traveller, migrant, and refugee children

Abstract

Children living in special circumstances due to migration or refugee status, or being of Gypsy, Roma, or Traveller ethnicity, have extra health needs and difficulty in accessing universal and specialist health services. Migrant, refugee, and Traveller children belong to diverse ethnic and social groups, but share characteristics which increase their need for targeted health promotion. All groups are subsections of the population with poor self-reported health and access to health services, and higher numbers of dependent children. It is well recognized that they experience discrimination and social exclusion which adversely impacts health. There is overlap between groups, for example, refugees are migrants who have left their country of origin to avoid persecution, and Roma are migrants who are of Gypsy ethnicity. This chapter identifies the reasons why children from these groups require focused health promotion; it summarizes their health needs, describes interventions to improve their physical and mental health through the child health programmes, and discusses factors that influence their ability to access preventive services.