Cultural competence: an overview of the health needs of the Irish Traveller community

Culture affects many aspects of patient interaction with health services. Healthcare workers in multicultural societies often face additional challenges when caring for patients, be it a Muslim patient fasting during Ramadan, a Jehovah’s Witness who will not accept blood, or an Irish Traveller with a fatalistic attitude towards health. To provide equal access, a health service must offer all patients the same opportunity to achieve comparable health outcomes, which requires a culturally competent service. Ireland is home to people of 188 nationalities, practising at least 21 different religions, so it is a challenge for healthcare providers to become culturally competent. However, there are resources available to assist us in this challenge, including cultural mediation and a wealth of knowledge on the specific health service needs of different cultural and religious groups.