West Limerick Resources - "Committed to the Community"

Article in August 2011 issue of Insight Magazine

Article in the August 2011 issue of Insight Magazine:

WEST LIMERICK PRIMARY HEALTH CARE PROJECT FOR TRAVELLERS

The West Limerick Primary Health Care Project for Travellers (PHCP) is up and running since September 2010. Its aim is to improve the health status and quality of life of Travellers in the West Limerick area. Seven women from the Traveller Community are employed by West Limerick Resources as Community Health Workers with the project.  The PHCP is managed by West Limerick Resources and is based in the Roundhouse on St. Mary's Road, Newcastle West. The project is funded by the HSE and is one of a number of such initiatives in the country. This approach to health promotion, where Community Health Workers from a given community deliver health information to other members of that community has been shown to work - not only in Ireland, but also in other parts of the world.

"There are four parts to our job", Bridget Quilligan explains, "we work with Travellers in the community, such as in their homes, in groups or just on the street. We also link with agencies to work with them on actions and to explain the health needs of Travellers. Thirdly, we sit on groups and networks. And lastly, we are all qualified to deliver Cultural Awareness Training to HSE staff." Winnie Harty gives examples of what some of this means: "We called to about 400 Traveller households between October 2010 and May 2011 and we've given all kinds of information on issues such as diabetes, heart health, cancer and mental health. We've developed and delivered a dental health workshop for parents and caregivers of children aged 0 to 8 years and the Dental Health Foundation gave us plenty of help. We are also working with the HSE's Department of Public Health to roll out a child-safety awareness programme in the coming months. We organised a Community Step Challenge with the help of the Irish Heart Foundation and the County Limerick Local Sports Partnership. This is about encouraging people to become aware of how active they are during the day and to increase their level of physical activity for better health. We are also members of the local and regional networks on violence against women, the National Traveller Suicide Awareness Project and the Traveller Health Unit for the Mid-West region. So we are kept busy!"

Considering the team of Community Health Workers work 12 hours a week, they are certainly kept going. Myra O'Brien explained how it all began, "we were in a BTEI - that's a back to education course - when Majella Tobin, Community Development Worker with the Traveller Health Unit, came and asked if we would be interested in the Primary Health Care Training Programme. We all said 'no way' because we didn't know what we'd be walking ourselves into. But Majella didn't give up - thankfully! Next thing, 11 of us were in a room with tutors. I'll never forget that first day - we didn't know who, what, why or where of any of this! But then when we got started, it wasn't that strange because we were used to folders and modules from the BTEI training. In all we did eight modules from family health to community development to work experience. The tutors and coordinators were great and gave us loads of support over the three-year programme which saw eight of us proudly graduating with a FETAC Level 3 Community Health Advocacy Award last year."

Another important piece of work the participants on the training programme undertook was to carry out the research across County Limerick for the All-Ireland Traveller Health Study (AITHS) which was published last year. "This was a huge thing," according to Hanna Hehir, "There was so much preparation and time given to that study. We were part of an all-Ireland research project that counted 10,618 Traveller families on the island of Ireland." The reason for specific health projects for Travellers is easily explained when one sees the figures that came out of the AITHS that was overseen by researchers in UCD's School of Public Health. Traveller men have four times the mortality rate of the general population and Traveller women have three times the mortality rate. Another disturbing figure is that suicide is six times higher in the Traveller community than in the general population and accounts for 11% of all Traveller deaths.

"What we hope for is that our job and what we are doing is making a difference", Ms. Quilligan explains, "The project is very new, but we do hope that Travellers and agencies like the HSE are able to say in a few years' time that we contributed to an improvement in the health of Travellers in West Limerick. I suppose the next All-Ireland Traveller Health Study will also help show if projects such as these can make a difference."

The day of this interview was also the day of the July draw for participants in the Community Step Challenge. Noreen Harty and Danielle Harty of Askeaton won a voucher each. Last month, John O'Brien, Mary O'Brien and Ashley Joyce, all from Newcastle West were the prize-winners.

West Limerick Primary Health Care Project for Travellers can be contacted on 069 61316 or phcp@wlr.ie. Further information is available on http://www.wlr.ie/primary-health-care-project/.