Health indicators of the National Roma Integration Strategy in Spain in the years 2006 and 2014

Background In 2011, the European Commission adopted the European framework for the National Roma Integration Strategies (NRISs) 2020, which focussed on four areas: education, employment, health and housing. In 2012 Spain approved its Strategy 2012–20, one of the central aims of which is to reduce social inequalities in health that affect the Roma population. Our objective was to analyze changes in health inequalities between the Roma population and the general population in Spain in the years 2006 and 2014. Methods The Spanish National Health Surveys (NHSs) 2006 (n = 29 478) and 2012 (n = 20 884) and the NHS of the Spanish Roma Population 2006 (n = 933) and 2014 (n = 1155) were compared. This study considered the variables included in NRIS 2012–20: self-perceived health, tobacco use in men, traffic accidents in men and women, obesity in women and gynaecological visits. Results Despite the adoption of the NRIS 2012–20, there were no observed improvements in health between 2006 and 2014 in the Roma population. Nor was there a reduction in inequalities in health concerning the general population in Spain. Also, there was no reduction in the health inequalities by gender for the two populations. Conclusions Health is determined in part by social factors including education, employment, housing and also by anti-Roma discourses and discrimination. Improving the health of the Roma population requires a multi-sectoral approach with a gender perspective.