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Roma

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Roma, or Romani people (often referred to as “Gypsies,” a term considered to be pejorative), are considered European, but originate from the northern part of India. They migrated out of India approximately 1,000 years ago and first settled in the Balkans (Southeastern Europe), then moved to the Carpathians (Central and Eastern Europe), and from there to Greece, Finland, Russia, and into Western Europe (Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom). Now, Roma live throughout all of Europe, in Canada and the United States. In Europe alone, there are 10–12 million Roma, with the largest populations in Romania and Bulgaria; Canada reports an estimated 80,000 Roma as of 2008; and approximately one million Roma reside in the United States. It is important to note that these numbers are estimates: there is no official count of Roma anywhere they reside because Roma do not record births or deaths, they are undercounted in national census, they often do not identify themselves as...

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  • Boika, R., Blackburn, C. M., Spencer, N. J., & Rechel, B. (2009). Access to health care for Roma children in Central and Eastern Europe: Findings from a qualitative study in Bulgaria. International Journal for Equity in Health, 8, 24. doi:10.1186//1475-9276-8-24.

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  • DeSoto, H., Beddies, S., & Gedeshi, I. (2005). Roma and the Egyptians in Albania: From social exclusion to social inclusion (Work Bank Working Paper No. 53). Washington, DC: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, The World Bank. ISSN: 1726–5878.

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  • Michler, S. (2009). Household vulnerability estimates of Roma in Southeast Europe. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 1–5. doi:10.1093/cje/bepo060. Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society.

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  • Vivian, C., & Dundes, L. (2004). The crossroads of culture and health among the Roma (gypsies) (health policy and system). Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 36(1), 86–91.

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  • Walsh, C. A., Este, D., & Krieg, B. (2008). The enculturation experience of Roma refugees: A Canadian perspective. British Journal of Social Work, 38, 900–917. doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcl1369. Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Association of Social Workers.

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© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Rausa, B. (2012). Roma. In: Loue, S., Sajatovic, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Immigrant Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_667

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_667

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

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