Gill PS, Redwood S (Editorial) Under-representation of minority ethnic groups in research – call for action BJGP 63,612 :355-356 June 2013
I was delighted to read Gill & Redwood’s editorial in the recent Royal College of GPs journal (Gill & Redwood 2013) and would like to underline their main point – which is that ‘minority ethnic’ groups, often characterised as ‘hard to reach’, are not in fact so difficult to conduct research with – but maybe should be described as ‘seldom heard’ or in their own words, ‘easier to ignore’ (Johnson 2012). In our work, we have frequently engaged in collaborative, co-productive research and service development, attaining HTA and NIHR standards of excellence (Liu et al 2012). We have, however, found practitioners amazingly reluctant to record ethnicity data, or to show much interest in the possibility of its value (Iqbal et al 2012a)! It isn’t that the groups mistrust research or are unwilling to have their data recorded in some detail (Iqbal et al 2012b). Indeed, in current research into asthma and medication, we are finding members of minority ethnic groups positively ‘breaking down the doors’ to participate – as long as they believe that their concerns will be taken seriously and the results used to improve health care and other services. When this is done – and the end-results do indeed often improve services for all including some for the more ‘hard-to-reach’ of the majority population, there seem to be no problems (Lloyd et al 2008) – except, perhaps, in the minds of the research leaders?
Iqbal et al 2009 ‘Improving ethnicity data collection for health statistics in the UK’ Diversity in Health & Care 6,4 : 267-285 (Authors: Iqbal, Gulnaz; Gumber, Anil; Johnson, Mark R.D.; Szczepura, Ala; Wilson, Sue; Dunn, Janet A) 2009
Iqbal et al 2012a “Ethnicity data collection in the UK: the healthcare professional's perspective” Diversity & Equality in Health & Care 9,4 :281-290 2012 (Iqbal G; Johnson MRD; Szczepura A; Gumber A; Wilson S; Dunn JA) URL: www.ingentaconnect.com/content/rmp/dehc/2012/00000009/00000004/art00007
Iqbal et al 2012b “UK ethnicity data collection for healthcare statistics: The South Asian perspective” BMC Public Health 12: 243 (March 2012) (Gulnaz Iqbal, Mark R D Johnson, Ala Szczepura, Sue Wilson, Anil Gumber and Janet A Dunn) doi 10.1186/1471-2458-12-243 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/12/243
Johnson MRD 2012 ‘User and Community Involvement in Health & Social Care Research: the case of Migrants and Ethnic Minorities’ in Ingleby D, Chiarenza A, Devillé W & Kotsioni I (Eds.) Inequalities in Health Care for Migrants and Ethnic Minorities. COST Series on Health and Diversity, Volume II. Antwerp/Apeldoorn: Garant. 2012 ISBN 978-90-441-2932-8 Chapter 10 pp 173-187
Liu et al 2012 “Adapting health promotion interventions to meet the needs of ethnic minority groups: mixed-methods evidence synthesis.” Health Technol Assess 2012; 16(44). (Liu JJ, Davidson E, Bhopal RS, White M, Johnson MRD, Netto G, et al. ) Published November 2012. at http://www.hta.ac.uk/execsumm/summ1644.htm
Lloyd et al 2008 “Securing recruitment and obtaining informed consent in minority ethnic groups in the UK” BMC Health Services Research 2008, 8:68 (Lloyd CE, Johnson MRD, Mughal S, Sturt JA, Collins GS, Roy T, Bibi R, and Barnett AH) 2008 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6963/8/68
Mark R D Johnson
Professor of Diversity in Health & Social Care
Mary Seacole Research Centre / CEEHD
De Montfort University Leicester LE1 9BH
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