COVID-19 and the risk to black, Asian and minority ethnic women during pregnancy

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (10) ◽  
pp. 718-723
Author(s):  
Sarah Esegbona-Adeigbe

Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) women in the UK have increased maternal mortality rates compared to other groups of women. Unfortunately, according to preliminary findings, the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to mortality rates for BAME women, raising concerns that pregnant BAME women are facing greater health disparities during the pandemic. A review of 427 pregnant women admitted to hospital in the UK with confirmed COVID-19 infection found that over half (56%) were from black or other ethnic minority groups. How BAME women navigate maternity services during the COVID-19 pandemic requires a vigilant review of their needs on an individual basis. This is particularly relevant for hard-to-reach women, such as recent immigrants and asylum seekers, who may encounter difficulties accessing or engaging with maternity services. Therefore, it is imperative to reassess and highlight the challenges faced by pregnant BAME women during the pandemic. The disruption of maternity services and diversion of resources away from essential pregnancy care because of prioritising the COVID-19 response is expected to increase risks of maternal mortality.

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. e041102
Author(s):  
Cleo Baskin ◽  
Geiske Zijlstra ◽  
Mike McGrath ◽  
Caroline Lee ◽  
Fiona Helen Duncan ◽  
...  

ObjectivesUndertake a scoping review to determine the effectiveness of community-centred interventions designed to improve the mental health and well-being of adults from ethnic minority groups in the UK.MethodsWe searched six electronic academic databases for studies published between January 1990 and September 2019: Medline, Embase, PsychINFO, Scopus, CINAHL and Cochrane. For intervention description and data extraction we used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews checklist and Template for Intervention Description and Replication guide. Quality was assessed using Cochrane risk of bias tools. Grey literature results were deemed beyond the scope of this review due to the large number of interventions and lack of available outcomes data.ResultsOf 4501 studies, 7 met the eligibility criteria of UK-based community interventions targeting mental health in adults from ethnic minority populations: four randomised controlled trials, one pre/post-pilot study, one cross-sectional study and one ethnographic study. Interventions included therapy-style sessions, peer-support groups, educational materials, gym access and a family services programme. Common components included a focus on tackling social isolation, using lay health workers from within the community, signposting and overcoming structural barriers to access. Four studies reported a statistically significant positive effect on mental health outcomes and six were appraised as having a high risk of bias. Study populations were ethnically heterogeneous and targeted people mainly from South Asia. No studies examined interventions targeting men.ConclusionsThere is a paucity of high-quality evidence regarding community-centred interventions focused on improving public mental health among ethnic minority groups. Decision makers need scientific evidence to inform effective approaches to mitigating health disparities. Our next steps are to map promising community activities and interventions that are currently being provided to help identify emerging evidence.


Author(s):  
Pauline Rivart ◽  
Verity Wainwright ◽  
Sandra Flynn ◽  
Isabelle M. Hunt ◽  
Jenny Shaw ◽  
...  

It is estimated that between 36,000 and 360,000 people are affected by suicide every year in the UK, and a proportion may develop depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, or engage in high-risk behaviours. Recent systematic analyses have revealed a clear gap in research on suicide bereavement in minority ethnic groups. This study aimed to understand the experiences and support needs of individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds bereaved by suicide and was the first in the UK to investigate this matter. The study was a secondary analysis of data. Participants were 7158 people residing in the UK who completed an online survey about their experiences of suicide. Free-text qualitative responses of 227 participants who did not identify as White British were analysed using thematic analysis. Four themes were identified: maladaptive coping strategies, emotional processes following suicide, lack of support from agencies, and the importance of mental health awareness. Ethnic minority groups reported a lack of support despite attempts to engage with services, noted the prevalence of stigma within ethnic minority groups, and expressed a need to tackle this. These preliminary results suggest that ethnic minority individuals require visible and accessible services that can successfully engage with and support them.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marian Knight ◽  
◽  
Manisha Nair ◽  
Peter Brocklehurst ◽  
Sara Kenyon ◽  
...  

Ethnicities ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 518-534
Author(s):  
Hella von Unger ◽  
Penelope Scott ◽  
Dennis Odukoya

Migration- and ethnicity-related categories are a core feature of public health systems internationally, particularly in health reporting on communicable infectious diseases. The specific categories and classifications used differ from country to country and are subject to controversy and change. The article compares categorization practices in health reporting in the UK and Germany with regard to tuberculosis. Tuberculosis has been framed as a ‘migrants’ disease’ in recent decades and new categories were introduced to collect and report epidemiological data. We reconstruct the genesis, change and power effects of categories related to im/migrants and ethnic minority groups. In both countries, migration-related categorizations entail constructions of im/migrants as ‘carriers of disease’. However, the categories also connect with discourses on human rights, prevention, treatment and care for migrants as vulnerable groups. While this ambivalent role of migration-related categories is not unique to health statistics, the potential contribution to processes of ‘othering’ and politics of exclusion seem particularly imminent in the context of communicable diseases such as tuberculosis. Ethnicity categories used in the UK, but not in Germany, also contribute to othering through racialization and culturalization, yet at the same time provide opportunities for community participation in the discourse.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-145
Author(s):  
Simone Knox

While important scholarship exists on the television representations of Asian American identities, research in the UK has been focused on African Caribbean and South Asian identities. Very little scholarly attention has been paid to televisual representations of British Chinese identities, despite the British Chinese constituting one of the larger and fastest growing ethnic minority groups within contemporary Britain. Informed by an understanding of the complexity of the term ‘British Chinese’, this article explores the representation of British Chinese identities in British television drama. Despite the long-standing absence and invisibility of such identities in British television, as perceived within the popular imagination in Britain and in British Chinese discourses, the article shows that a larger number of British Chinese actors have found notable employment in British television than is commonly acknowledged or remembered within the popular imagination. The article draws on a database that deploys a range of research, including archive research at the BFI Reuben Library, to map the presence of British Chinese actors in British television drama since 1945. Through this historiographic focus, the article identifies some of the most significant trends in representations of British Chinese identities in British television drama. It then illustrates and provides more specific texture to these broader patterns through the close textual analysis of a case study, the BBC1 flagship series Sherlock. It concludes by reflecting on the contemporary period which has seen an influx of British Chinese actors into British television drama as well as high-profile diversity campaigning within Britain.


Author(s):  
G David Batty ◽  
Bamba Gaye ◽  
Catharine R Gale ◽  
Mark Hamer ◽  
Camille Lassale

Abstract Ethnic inequalities in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hospitalizations and mortality have been widely reported but there is scant understanding of how they are embodied. The UK Biobank prospective cohort study comprises around half a million people who were aged 40-69 years at study induction between 2006 and 2010 when information on ethnic background and potential explanatory factors was captured. Study members were prospectively linked to a national mortality registry. In an analytical sample of 448,664 individuals (248,820 women), 705 deaths were ascribed to COVID-19 between 5th March, 2020 and 24th January, 2021. In age- and sex-adjusted analyses, relative to White participants, Black study members experienced around five times the risk of COVID-19 mortality (odds ratio; 95% confidence interval: 4.81; 3.28, 7.05), while there was a doubling in the South Asian group (2.05; 1.30, 3.25). Controlling for baseline comorbidities, social factors (including socioeconomic circumstances), and lifestyle indices attenuated this risk differential by 34% in Black study members (2.84; 1.91, 4.23) and 37% in South Asian individuals (1.57; 0.97, 2.55). The residual risk of COVID-19 deaths in ethnic minority groups may be ascribed to a range of unmeasured characteristics and requires further exploration.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
V Kabeya ◽  
S Puthussery ◽  
A Furmanski

Abstract Background Culturally appropriate interventions are needed to improve the uptake of genetic counselling and testing among ethnically diverse communities. This study aims to assess the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a “Health Party” intervention to increase awareness, knowledge and uptake of genetic testing for breast and ovarian cancer among ethnic minority women in the UK. Methods The “Health Party” intervention will include an educational session in a party setting. Participants will be taught by professionals about genetic testing and how to access genetic testing services in the UK National Health Service. We will recruit a sample of 60 women aged 18 years and over from key ethnic minority groups in the UK (Black African, Black Caribbean, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi) and will conduct four community based sessions, each with about 15 participants. The outcomes will primarily relate to recruitment and attrition rates, data collection, study resources and intervention delivery. A quantitative pre-post evaluation with measurements before, shortly after, and at 6 months following the intervention will be conducted to assess the preliminary effectiveness on awareness, knowledge and uptake of genetic testing. We will use three way mixed analysis of variance (MANOVA) to analyse changes pre- and post- intervention. The fidelity of the intervention including facilitation strategies, quality of delivery and participant response will be assessed. Conclusions Findings will establish the feasibility of the intervention and will provide insights into its effectiveness to increase the awareness, knowledge and uptake of genetic testing for breast and ovarian cancer among women from ethnic minority groups in the UK. Impact: Depending on its feasibility and effectiveness, the intervention can be used to help women from ethnic minority groups to make informed choices about genetic testing and improve early diagnosis and treatment of breast and ovarian cancer. Key messages “Health Party” may be a feasible intervention for ethnic minority women in the UK. “Health Party” intervention may increase awareness, knowledge and uptake of services.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-272
Author(s):  
Mrigesh Bhatia

COVID-19 is known to disproportionately affect ethnic minorities in number of settings. This phenomenon has also been reported in the UK where the black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) group has adverse health outcomes in terms of number of both cases and mortality rates when compared to the white local population. This trend is also observed among the BAME staff working in the National Health Service. Number of plausible explanations and the importance of various approaches including social-determinants approach is pointed out. This pandemic has re-ignited the debate on social inequalities, issues around social deprivation and health inequalities within the UK. This article concludes with some policy recommendations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (7) ◽  
pp. 1410-1432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Daniel ◽  
Andrew Henley ◽  
Muhammad Naveed Anwar

Purpose Ethnic minority entrepreneurs (EMEs) are traditionally associated with lower growth industry sectors. The purpose of this paper is to draw on the theory of mixed embeddedness to determine if more recent EMEs have been able to break out of lower growth sectors and if break out varies across ethnic minority groups. It also compares entrepreneurial quality in terms of weekly hours worked, weekly earnings and job satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative inferential statistical analysis is undertaken on data drawn from the large scale, social sciences data set for the UK, Understanding Society. Findings The study finds that break out is not associated with being a recent EME but does vary across ethnic minority groups. Break out is found to be associated with gender, education, English language proficiency and occupational status. Some variation in entrepreneurial quality is found for both recent EMEs and across ethnic minority groups. Practical implications Understanding the nature and quality of ethnic minority entrepreneurship is important since it informs public debate about migration, informs policy and shapes activities of future EMEs. Originality/value The study provides a theoretically grounded interpretation of the explanatory variables associated with EME break out and entrepreneurial quality. Second, it provides a large confirmatory study of break out and finally, it also finds an important empirical nuance to the concept of opportunity structure by identifying a variation over time in both external and socio-demographic factors.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 223-228
Author(s):  
Martin Rotenberg

SUMMARYThere is growing evidence to support recovery and rehabilitation services and interventions for people with severe mental illness (SMI). However, those from ethnic minority communities face inequitable outcomes and access to mental health services and poorer functional outcomes. This article reviews the evidence and discusses facilitators and barriers in the recovery journey of people with SMI from ethnic minority groups. Although there is limited evidence for specific interventions for ethnic minority patients, areas for future study and action are discussed.LEARNING OBJECTIVESAfter reading this article you will be able to:•understand the scope of rehabilitation practices and interventions and evidence for use with ethnic minority patients with severe mental illness•describe differences and similarities in the conceptualisation of recovery by majority and minority ethnic communities•appreciate facilitators and barriers to rehabilitation and recovery for ethnic minority patients with SMI.DECLARATION OF INTERESTNone.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document