Condon Louise J, Salmon Debra
Department of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK.
Department of Health and Social Science, Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK.
Health Expect. 2015 Oct;18(5):784-95. doi: 10.1111/hex.12214. Epub 2014 Jun 3.
Gypsies and Travellers are known to have poor health status and access to health services, even in comparison with other ethnic minority groups. People from this stigmatized ethnic group are rarely consulted about their health needs or health service provision. Optimal infant feeding in the first year of life has the potential to improve lifelong health.
The aim of this study was to explore mothers and grandmothers' views on feeding in the first year of life, including the support provided by health professionals.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposively selected sample of 22 mothers and grandmothers of English Gypsy, Irish Traveller and Romanian Roma ethnicity between November 2011 and February 2012 in a city in south-west England.
Few women perceived themselves as requiring help from health professionals in infant feeding, as acceptable and accessible support was available from within their own communities. Roma mothers described a tradition of breast-feeding and appropriately timed weaning, while English Gypsies and Irish Travellers customarily practised less healthy infant feeding. When mothers requested support, health service provision was often found inadequate.
Exploring the views of Gypsies and Travellers is important to gain insight into the provision of health services for this marginalized ethnic group. This study has implications for policy and the practice of health professionals, in indicating the customary feeding behaviours of some Gypsy and Travellers, and highlighting areas meriting culturally sensitive health promotion.
众所周知，即使与其他少数民族群体相比，吉卜赛人和游民的健康状况也较差，且获得医疗服务的机会有限。这个受歧视的族群的健康需求或医疗服务提供情况很少被咨询。生命第一年的最佳婴儿喂养方式有可能改善终身健康。
本研究的目的是探讨母亲和祖母对生命第一年喂养方式的看法，包括卫生专业人员提供的支持。
2011年11月至2012年2月期间，在英格兰西南部的一个城市，对22名有目的选取的英国吉卜赛、爱尔兰游民和罗马尼亚罗姆族裔的母亲和祖母进行了半结构式访谈。
很少有女性认为自己在婴儿喂养方面需要卫生专业人员的帮助，因为她们自己的社区能提供可接受且容易获得的支持。罗姆族母亲描述了母乳喂养和适时断奶的传统，而英国吉卜赛人和爱尔兰游民通常采用不太健康的婴儿喂养方式。当母亲们寻求支持时，往往发现医疗服务不足。
探讨吉卜赛人和游民的观点对于深入了解为这个边缘化族群提供的医疗服务很重要。本研究对政策和卫生专业人员的实践有启示意义，指出了一些吉卜赛人和游民的传统喂养行为，并突出了值得进行文化敏感型健康促进的领域。
