Research Data On Minority Groups

Disparities in health and health care across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds in the United States are well documented. The reasons for these disparities are, however, not well understood. Current data available on race, ethnicity, SEP, and accumulation and language use are severely limited. The report examines data collection and reporting systems relating to the collection of data on race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic position and offers recommendations.

This crucial contribution exposes the misconception that health research and health services are equally effective for all and highlights their failures in reaching Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups. It provides essential case study examples on recruitment, engagement and partnerships with BAME groups in research and public engagement.

In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.

In their later years, Americans of different racial and ethnic backgrounds are not in equally good-or equally poor-health. There is wide variation, but on average older Whites are healthier than older Blacks and tend to outlive them. But Whites tend to be in poorer health than Hispanics and Asian Americans. This volume documents the differentials and considers possible explanations. Selection processes play a role: selective migration, for instance, or selective survival to advanced ages. Health differentials originate early in life, possibly even before birth, and are affected by events and experiences throughout the life course. Differences in socioeconomic status, risk behavior, social relations, and health care all play a role. Separate chapters consider the contribution of such factors and the biopsychosocial mechanisms that link them to health. This volume provides the empirical evidence for the research agenda provided in the separate report of the Panel on Race, Ethnicity, and Health in Later Life.

This book addresses the legal feasibility of ethnic data collection and positive action for equality and anti-discrimination purposes, and considers how they could be used to promote the Roma minority’s inclusion in Europe. The book’s central aim is to research how a societal problem can be improved upon from a legal perspective. The controversy surrounding ethnic data collection and positive action severely limits their use at the national level. Accordingly, legal and political concerns are analysed and addressed in order to demonstrate that it is possible to collect such data and to implement such measures while fully respecting international and European human rights norms, provided that certain conditions are met. Part I focuses on ethnic data collection and explores the key rules and principles that govern it, the ways in which this equality tool could be used, and how potential obstacles might be overcome. It also identifies and addresses the specific challenges that arise when collecting ethnic data on the Roma minority in Europe. In turn, Part II explores positive action and the broad range of measures covered by the concept, before analysing the applicable international and European framework. It reviews the benefits and challenges of implementing positive action for Roma, identifies best practices, and gives special consideration to inter-cultural mediation in the advancement of Roma inclusion. The book concludes with an overview of the main findings on both topics and by identifying three essential elements that must be in place, in addition to full respect for the applicable legal rules, in order to combat discrimination and achieve the inclusion of Roma in Europe by complementing existing anti-discrimination frameworks with the collection of ethnic data and the implementation of positive action schemes.

The panel convened the Workshop on Improving Racial and Ethnic Data in Health to review information about current private-sector and state data collection practices in light of existing federal, state, and local regulations, laws, and requirements. The workshop presentations featured the perspectives of data users, health care providers, insurance plan representatives, state and local public health officials, and regulatory officials. Participants assessed policies, practices, barriers, and opportunities for collecting racial and ethnic data in their settings, and explored ways that private and state systems can be improved to address data needs. In preparation for the workshop, the panel commissioned four background papers to fill gaps in knowledge of private-sector and state government policies and practices and to address the importance of racial and ethnic data collection. The panel is also examining the role of socioeconomic status regarding health and health care disparities. However, the workshop intended to focus only on racial and ethnic data collection. The panel's final report will contain a full consideration of the collection of racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic status data.