Ethnic inequalities in health care for people with multiple health conditions
Funded by The Health Foundation (2020-2023)
Project details
Background
There is now unequivocal evidence documenting ethnic inequalities in health in the UK, whereby most ethnic minority groups have poorer physical and mental health than the white majority group. Ethnic inequalities in health can be largely explained by underlying social and economic inequalities, and experiences of racial discrimination.
A growing body of evidence is now beginning to document ethnic inequalities in health care, with studies reporting ethnic inequalities in access to and satisfaction with primary and secondary services. Ethnic inequalities in access to mental health services are markedly stark. Amid these alarming ethnic inequalities in health and health care, there is the concern that ethnic inequalities may be even worse for people with multiple conditions, but there is little evidence to document this. In this project we aim to understand whether there are ethnic inequalities in health care among people with multiple health conditions, and identify where care could be improved and ethnic inequalities addressed.
Aims
The overall aim of this project is to contribute to reducing ethnic inequalities in health care quality, by providing solid evidence regarding the inequalities that currently exist. Specific aims are:
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To use nationally representative data to provide an up-to-date description of how multiple conditions vary across ethnic groups in the UK;
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To describe ethnic differences in health care utilisation, access, and quality for people with multiple conditions;
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To make the evidence on ethnic inequalities in health care for people with multiple conditions accessible to policy/practitioner/public as well as academic audiences
Methods
In order to achieve these aims we will review the evidence on ethnic inequalities in health and health care among people with multiple conditions; summarise the evidence on health service initiatives within the UK to reduce or contain ethnic inequalities in health care utilisation and/or health outcomes of relevance for people with multiple conditions; and analyse survey data and electronic health records to address gaps identified in the literature review.
Meet The Team
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Brenda is research fellow based at the department of Global Health and Social Medicine, King's College London. Her research interests include understanding the impact of health and socio-economic inequalities on people from minoritised ethnic groups and how these play out in later life.
Mai Stafford
Mai is at the Health Foundation, an independent charity committed to bringing about better health and health care for people in the UK. Mai is currently in the Data Analytics team, involved in a programme of work on inequalities in health and health care
Laia is the study's Principal Investigator. She is a Professor of Social Science and Health at the department of Global Health & Social Medicine, King's College London. Laia’s research interests centre around understanding the determinants of inequities in health, with a focus on life course effects
The Advisory Board
The project is guided by an Advisory Board composed of academic and clinical experts, members of charities working with people from minoritised ethnic groups and public health officials.
The aim of the advisory board is to help maximise the impact of the study by:
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sharing information on external factors to help shape priorities for data analysis;
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probing the data, methods, and interpretation to ensure they are robust and defensible;
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suggesting avenues for dissemination and helping to promote study outputs;
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being a forum to bring together various organisations to broaden understanding of the ethnic inequalities field
Members of the Advisory Board
