What we are doing?
The project aims to explore how the general public and healthcare professionals understand and use ethnicity, race, and ancestry concepts in health research and care. We aim to build actionable recommendations for more accurate and effective use of ethnicity, race, and ancestry terminology in health research and care.
To do this we will take a mixed-methods approach that includes a systematic review, qualitative research (focus groups, interviews), and consensus-building techniques (e.g., Delphi method). We aim to build a toolkit that beneficences can use in their research or care respectively.
Why we are doing it?
Currently, we have overarching terms relating to ethnicity, race and ancestry that are neither consistent nor considerate of the nuances of different communities and their socio-economic/ health/ service use experiences. The terms are often used interchangeably, which can limit the interpretability and application of research findings. This is apparent when it comes to understanding health disparities and the consequence of misunderstanding is highlighted by the recent COVID-19 pandemic and its significant ethnicity-based health disparities in admission rates and outcomes. Additionally, we hope that by defining terminology this will stop reinforcement of negative attitudes within the community and healthcare sector.
What the benefits will be and to whom?
The benefit of conducting this research is multifaceted with identifying key terminologies a vital step in addressing inequalities in marginalised communities. Clearer definitions not only aid public understanding, but also supports clinicians, researchers and policy makers by offering a consistent framework to compare against and manage future healthcare needs.
Another benefit is that clearer definitions and distinctions, allows for systematic and comparable health research to better identify outcomes and causal factors. Having standardised nomenclature where possible, both improves the interpretability and utility of health research, but also informs mitigation strategies in policy to protect and improve the wider study of ethnicity and health.
Who we are working with?
Under the University of Leicester, we will be working with:
- Leicester Diabetes Centre
- Centre for Ethnic Health Research
- Members of the public and healthcare professionals for some aspects of the research
Contact
Ardra Giboy, Ag719@leicester.ac.uk.