Segregated Roma and health-care system professionals in Slovakia: A comparison of perspectives on Roma health
Abstract
Methodological reviews suggest that across cultural boundaries, traditional social-epidemiological research on social determinants of health fails to deliver conclusive and instructive results. This seems to apply to research on enduring Roma health-disparities in Central and Eastern Europe, too.
In order to transgress such difficulties, research on "cultural factors" is often being proposed. Results of two qualitative studies carried out in response to such proposals will be discussed: one on segregated Roma health-related behaviour in general and one on Roma utilization of health-care services.
The first study employed an applied medical-anthropological perspective and relied on ethnographic methods. Spanning over several years, the research involved author's embedment within a segregated Roma settlement, long-term participant observation, and in-depth structured interviewing.
Primary focus was on Roma health-related behaviour including utilization of health-care services. The second study took a narrower, more sociological, and areal approach, and combined features of ethnography with qualitative surveys.
It focused on the types of differential limitations specifically with respect to Roma experienced by health-system professionals working on behalf of the minority incidentally.