Health and Health Care of The Romani Gypsy Culture. Many cultures have their own specific medical and health care beliefs. The Romani culture has their own specific perspective in regards to these matters. This perspective on medical attention and health care has majorly effected the physical health of these people. According to Hancock, “The real overall state of health in the Romani population is not good,” (Hancock, 2017). This is due to a multitude of reasons. Although these practices and ideas have lead to an unhealthy state of Romani people, they are values that must be considered in the medical field. These medical and health care beliefs in the Romani culture are different than most but significant and of vital importance to the …show more content…
This division into two categories is “a problem of broader social importance,” (Sutherland, 1992). “Gypsies make a distinction between illnesses that originate from the non-gypsies (gaje) and illnesses that are exclusively part of their own world,” (Sutherland, 1992). Some of these illnesses that are natural to the group are heart complaints, rashes, vomiting, hiccups, insomnia, or irritability. Examples of illnesses that are not natural to the group and “are the result of over-familiarity with the jado or non Romani world” include all sexually transmitted diseases, flu, fevers, and even hemorrhoids (Hancock, 2017). With this separation of illnesses also comes a separation of medical treatment based off which category the illness falls under. If the illness comes from outside the culture, the affected must consult a non-Romani doctor. Although, if the illness is considered to be from within the culture or from ‘Romani afflictions’, then “traditional cures are provided by a drabarni or female healer” (Hancock, 2017). The culture believes that “certain diseases are outside the realm of Gadje,” and also are unwilling to “put their complete faith in the Gadje medical system,” (Vivian, dundes, …show more content…
The reason for the mass group gathering is because this is “one of the most turbulent times in the life of a Gypsy and his family” (Thomas, 1988). This fear is due to multiple reasons such as it is a non-Gypsy place meaning there are “certain impurity” (Sutherland, 1992). They fear becoming “physically or morally impure” because it could mean “rejection by the entire group” (Sutherland, 1992). An act as simple as “a doctors reassuring pat on a patient’s foot may defile him in the eyes of a Gypsy,” (Thomas, 1988). To stray away from this fear of ‘social isolation’, Gypsies will gather to visit the ill in numbers of over 100. “Only recently have hospital administrations begun to recognize this as cultural behavior and to accommodate it,” (Hancock,