Health promotion and disease prevention are vital elements of public health practice, which serve to maintain and improve the health of the population. Nursing skills are key to providing public health interventions across all health and social care settings as part of holistic patient-centred care. Nurses devise, implement and evaluate public health interventions. This research theme contributes to the evidence base for public health interventions led by nurses.
Increasing visibility of the mental health needs of children and young people from Gypsy and Traveller communities using advanced data linkage
Principal Investigators are Professor Louise Condon and Professor Ann John, Swansea University
Gypsy/ Travellers are a recognised ethnic group, but data about their health needs and service use is not collected routinely in the NHS. Although mental health problems are prevalent in this community there is little empirical research into the mental health needs of Children and Young People (CYP) who live on Traveller sites. This study will use innovative geo-spatial data linkage techniques to link administrative data on Gypsy/Traveller sites to primary care data in the SAIL databank. Using the linked data we will build a CYP e-cohort to assess service usage and investigate mental health disorders of extract information about the mental health needs and primary care service use of CYP of CYP resident in Gypsy/Traveller sites.
Start date: October 2018
Duration: 12 months
Funding from MQ Data Science
Cancer Prevention among Gypsies, Roma and Travellers: A Participatory Research Project
The Principal Investigator is Professor Louise Condon
The purpose of the project is to work collaboratively with community members as co-researchers to explore the views of Gypsy, Traveller and Roma people in Wales on cancer prevention, and develop interventions to reduce the risk of cancer. This research is needed because Gypsy-Travellers suffer worse health than the general population, and can experience barriers in accessing screening and other health services.
Start date: June 2018
Duration: 12 months
Funding from Tenovus Cancer Care
MANIFeST: Maintaining child and family safety when a parent has a mental health problem: a nurse-led participatory project
The Prinicipal Investigator is Professor Louise Condon
The potential risks for children when a parent has a mental health problem are well recognised. Health visitors are community public health nurses who have a universal statutory role with families, supporting them to keep children healthy, and being involved when families struggle with issues such as parental ill health. Where families and require additional support to keep their children safe, health visitors provide face-to-face support and refer to agencies such as social services or adult mental health teams. This study explores how health visitors can achieve best practice in families where a parent’s mental health problem impacts adversely upon child wellbeing and optimal development. Recognising that those working with families in the early years are best placed to find solutions to difficulties experienced in their own practice, the project takes a participatory approach.
Start date: September 2017
Duration: 12 months
Funding from General Nursing Council Trust
Understanding uptake of Immunisations in TravellIng and Gypsy communities (UNITING)
Gypsies, Travellers and Roma are less likely to access health services, including immunisation. In this Health Technology Assessment study interviews were conducted with Travellers from six Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities (n=174), and service providers.
At participatory workshops, interventions to improve immunisation rates were identified by members of the community and service providers. The five ‘top-priority’ interventions were: (1) cultural competence training for health professionals and frontline staff; (2) identification of Travellers in health records to tailor support and monitor uptake; (3) provision of a named frontline person in GP practices to provide respectful and supportive service; (4) flexible and diverse systems for booking appointments, recall and reminders; and (5) protected funding for health visitors specialising in Traveller health.
Keeping pre-school children healthy
Keeping pre-school children healthy: a qualitative study of the experiences of parents who have migrated to the UK.
Children of migrant parents are a growing group in the UK population with 25% of births in 2013 to mothers born abroad (ONS 2014). Five focus groups were held in South West England with parents of children aged 0-5 years who had migrated to the UK within the last ten years.
Parents originated from Romania, Poland, Somalia, and Pakistan, with one group made up of Roma parents. Improving children’s life chances was a factor motivating migration; however, once in the UK differences in lifestyle challenged parents’ ability to keep children healthy. All groups apart from the Roma perceived their children’s play, exercise, and nutrition to be less healthy post-migration. This qualitative study indicates the challenges faced by migrant parents in maintaining children health in the UK. Health in the early years sets the course of lifelong health so it is important child health professionals support parents to retain positive health behaviours post-migration.
Tackling inequalities in health Researchers
