Ethnicity and Health

Addressing ethnic inequalities is a key aspect of initiatives of UK governments and also of international organisations. In spite of considerable research, the causes of ethnic differences in health (e.g. excess hypertension in Black African origin and coronary events in South Asians) remain a scientific and policy challenge. The overall aim of our programme is to focus on how the timing and duration of social exposures are related to ethnic differences in health and health related behaviours over the life course. This allows us to identify key time points when interventions to reduce ethnic inequalities in health could be most effective, but also gives insights into improving health outcomes for all groups, especially where some ethnic groups do better than average.

Our objectives are to investigate:
(1) the extent to which social, economic and psychological circumstances contribute to differences in health at different stages of the life course within and between ethnic groups;
(2) change and stability in key influences on health such as family life, socio-economic disadvantage and neighbourhood environments and
(3) the extent to which and why the health of ethnic groups of similar ancestry varies in different country settings.

We focus on the major ethnic minority groups (Black Caribbean, Black African, Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi), critical stages of the life course, generational differences (including UK-born and other born) and major diseases. The lack of longitudinal studies of ethnic minorities has made it difficult to investigate when health differences emerge, and to understand transmission of health potential across generations. Our Determinants in Adolescent Social well-being and Health (DASH) study is a unique resource that we use to track ethnic differences in cardiovascular, respiratory and mental health from youth to adulthood. Our international comparisons of ethnic inequalities in health include countries at different stages of development. Variations in the patterns of inequalities signal influences in the host environment such as educational chances, health behaviours, access to health care, which in turn are associated with and influenced by the political, economic and social fabric of countries.

We use multiple methods including longitudinal studies, national and international surveys and qualitative studies. We complement our explanatory research with experimental research, a shift which we have recently initiated for the prevention of obesity in ethnic minority young people. Our empirical studies are linked to various activities in the communities to foster information exchange and help us ensure culturally appropriate designs.

Publications

[in press]

Etyang A, Harding S, Cruickshank JR. Slum living and hypertension in tropical settings: neglected issue, statistical artifact or surprisingly slight? Insights amidst adversity [editorial]. Journal of Hypertension [in press]

Read UM, Doku VCK, de-Graft Aikins A. Schizophrenia and psychosis in West Africa from the colonial era to the present. In: Kleinman A, Hill A, Akyeampong E, editors Culture, mental illness and psychiatric practice in Africa. Indianopolis: Indiana University Press, [in press].

Read UM. ‘Doctor sickness’ or ‘pastor sickness’? contested domains of healing power in the treatment of mental illness in Kintampo, Ghana. In: Basu H, Littlewood R, Steinforth, editors Religion, spirituality, and psychiatry: negotiating healthy minds - unsettling clinical practices. New York: [in press].

Read UM. ‘No matter how the child is, she is hers’ practical kinship in the care of mental illness in Kintampo, Ghana. Ghana Studies [in press]

Read UM. Madness and miracles: hoping for healing in rural Ghana. In: Littlewood R, Napier D, editors Cosmos, Gods and Madmen in the Anthropology of Medicine. Walnut Creek: Left Coast Press, [in press].

2013

Harding S, Lenguerrand E, Costa G, d’Errico A, Martikainen P, Tarkiainen L, Blane D, Akinwale B, Bartley M. Trends in mortality by labour market position around retirement ages in three European countries with different welfare regimes. International Journal of Public Health 2013;58:99-108

Programme Themes

Study Websites

Ethnicity and Health

Publications

[in press]

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

1998

Programme Leader

Programme Staff

Former Staff