A Community-Based Participatory Action Research for Roma Health Justice in a Deprived District in Spain

Daniela E. Miranda, Manuel Garcia-Ramirez, Fabricio E. Balcazar and Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar
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Daniela E. Miranda: CESPYD, Coalition for the Study of Health, Power and Diversity, Department of Social Psychology, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville 41018, Spain
Manuel Garcia-Ramirez: CESPYD, Coalition for the Study of Health, Power and Diversity, Department of Social Psychology, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville 41018, Spain
Fabricio E. Balcazar: Department of Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60608, USA
Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar: Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Il 60612, USA

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 19, 1-22

Abstract: Addressing health disparities and promoting health equity for Roma has been a challenge. The Roma are the largest disadvantaged ethnic minority population in Europe and have been the victims of deep social and economic injustices, institutional discrimination, and structural antigypsyism over many centuries. This has resulted in a much worse health status than their non-Roma counterparts. Current strategies based on ameliorative and top-down approaches to service delivery have resulted in paradoxical effects that solidify health disparities, since they do not effectively address the problems of vulnerable Roma groups. Following a health justice approach, we present a community-based participatory action research case study generated by a community and university partnership intended to address power imbalances and build collaboration among local stakeholders. This case study involved a group of health providers, Roma residents, researchers, Roma community organizations, and other stakeholders in the Poligono Sur, a neighborhood of Seville, Spain. The case study comprises four phases: (1) identifying Roma health assets, (2) empowering Roma community through sociopolitical awareness, (3) promoting alliances between Roma and community resources/institutions, and (4) building a common agenda for promoting Roma health justice. We highlighted best practices for developing processes to influence Roma health equity in local health policy agendas.

Keywords: Roma; health inequities; antigypsyism; health justice; community-based participatory action research (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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