Understanding and tackling ethnic inequalities in health

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Understanding and tackling ethnic inequalities in
health

• An ESRC Research Seminar Series

Organisers Sarah Salway and Kiran Nanchahal
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Background

• Interest in links between race, ethnicity
  health is not new.
• Huge increase in available data, and significant
  shift in policy, in last 10-15 years.
• Evidence of large and persistent inequality (and
  diversity) in many aspects of social, economic
  and health-related well-being between ethnic
  groups.
• Growing number of ethnic health researchers.
• Increased programme activity at local level.

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Background (2)

• Improving health of minority ethnic groups
  central component of governments agenda to
  reduce social exclusion and inequalities in
  health
• Significant action at policy level across many
  government departments new research programmes,
  new focused interventions, and new targets for
  achieving reduction in ethnic minority
  disadvantage.
• Increased recognition of ways in which different
  dimensions of disadvantage inter-relate.

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Background (3)

• Wide range of factors contribute to health
  outcomes in ethnic minority groups
• Differential access quality of health services
• Socio-cultural influences
• Socio-economic disadvantage
• Racial discrimination
• Migration and life events
• Genetic or biological variation
• Need cross-disciplinary methods of enquiry and
  multi-sector intervention

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ESRC Research Seminar SeriesAims and objectives

• Promote discussion networks between academic
  researchers and strengthen their contribution to
  long term health of the social sciences
• Value to research
• Setting or enhancing personal research agendas
• Increasing range of personal research contacts
• Increasing degree of collaborative research
• Value to policy makers
• Impact on knowledge and perceptions of the
  research field
• Political impact on area of operation or policy

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Aims of this seminar series

• To bring together academics from wide range of
  institutional settings, practitioners,
  policy-makers, and other users of research.
• To share current knowledge regarding patterns and
  determinants of health among different ethnic
  groups, as well as best practice in researching
  ethnicity and health.
• To engage in debate surrounding current issues
  and challenges regarding the generation and
  application of knowledge to effective practice.

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Some issues and challenges

• What is ethnicity? fluid and complex
• Health-focused research often not based on
  theoretical framework.
• How can inequality be understood, monitored and
  addressed if categories keep shifting?
• How can greater understanding of lived
  experiences What I am, and What it means to
  be me, be put to practical use to bring about
  positive change?
• Potential pitfalls of attention to ethnicity
• Reification of ethnic groups and contribution
  to boundaries of exclusion.
• Lack of representation of powerless groups,
  racism, victim-blaming, stereotyping.
• Overlooking of other axes of inequality (and
  their inter-relationships).

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Issues and challenges (2)

• Ever-increasing diversity (countries of origin,
  life-stage, generation, class)
• Is detailed understanding of particular
  situations useful?
• Can we expect to tailor services to meet diverse
  needs?
• Or, should generic cultural competencies be the
  objective?
• Can investigations move beyond the descriptive to
  the predictive?
• Problems of generalisability of findings over
  time, e.g. current studies on older groups.

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Issues and challenges (3)

• Translating knowledge into policy and practice
• Gap between academia and world of service
  provision
• Need for more researcher-practitioners and
  multi-experience teams.
• Danger of nuanced interpretations being
  translated into stereotypical responses.
• What should be the boundaries of the health
  sector?
• Who should be concerned about ethnic minority
  health?
• What other issues should concern health
  practitioners?
• How can local knowledge be built upon?
• What models of participation empowerment work
  well?
• How can local initiatives be scaled up
  effectively?

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Participation in the series

• Sectors
• Academics
• Policy makers
• Service providers
• Hierarchy
• Senior/ Junior staff
• Suggestions for
• Speakers discussants
• Publicity
• Feedback
• New collaborations?
• New initiatives?
• New ways of looking at things?

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Seminars convenors (2005)

• Understanding the links between socioeconomic
  deprivation health among ethnic minority groups
• Using assessments of biological and genetic risk
  to inform policy priorities
• Gender, generation and identity socio-cultural
  constructions and their influences on health

• 1. February 2005, LondonJames Nazroo Sarah
  Salway
• 2. June 2005, LeedsKarl Atkin Elizabeth
  Anionwu
• 3. October 2005, LondonSeeromanie Harding
  Kiran Nanchahal

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Seminars convenors (2006)

• 4. January 2006, WarwickDavid Owen Hannah
  Bradby
• 5. April 2006, LeicesterMark Johnson Raj
  Bhopal
• 6. July 2006, SheffieldKate Gerrish Sarah
  Salway

• Migration, trans-national links and life-course
  influences on health
• Cultural competence in health and social research
• Evidence into practice increasing
  appropriateness and cultural competence of health
  and social care provision

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Up-to-date information

• URL www.shef.ac.uk/ethnichealthinequalities

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Many thanks to..

• ESRC for providing funding
• The Brady Centre
• Our speakers and discussants
• Linda Belk for administration
• All participants

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A reminder

• Seminar 2
• June 2005, Leeds
• Convenors Karl Atkin Elizabeth Anionwu
• Using assessments of biological and genetic risk
  to inform policy priorities
• www.shef.ac.uk/ethnichealthinequalities