Health and social care
We are committed to reducing the significant inequalities that exist for Gypsy/Traveller communities and to improve their access to and experience of health and social care.
The Community Health Workers programme, funded by us and led by MECOPP (Minority Ethnic Carers of People Project), has played a key role in helping Gypsy/Traveller communities across several health board areas.
Community Health Workers have been operating since December 2021 and the programme was recently evaluated by the University of Dundee. The evaluation showed that, over two years, Community Health Workers engaged with over 1,000 Scottish Gypsy/Travellers, addressing barriers to healthcare, improving health literacy, and fostering trust with services. This community-led, approach has been pivotal in reducing health inequalities and promoting culturally appropriate and sensitive care. Read the full report.
We are working with health boards, Public Health Scotland, MECOPP and others to build on the success of this programme and to embed best practice in mainstream health services.
This will help inform and shape future service planning and design.