Ethnic inequalities in later life`

Over the course of their lives, ethnic minority people have poorer health and wellbeing than the White majority population; they are over twice as likely to be born low birthweight, have up to seven years less healthy life expectancy at birth, and have poorer health in adulthood. These inequalities are likely to be due to reduced socioeconomic resources, and to life course experiences of marginalisation and racial discrimination. Less is known about ethnic inequalities at later stages in the life course, although a handful of UK studies have shown that ethnic inequalities in health and wellbeing are much worse at older ages than at younger ages. As ethnic minority populations grow older it will become increasingly important to get a better understanding of the extent of, and the reasons behind, ethnic inequalities in later life. This knowledge will be imperative in planning social and health-related policies and delivering interventions targeted at reducing ethnic inequalities.
This project will address these gaps by using innovative methods to analyse existing Census and survey data to provide much needed information on (i) the nature of ethnic inequalities in health, wellbeing, and socioeconomic circumstances at older ages, (ii) why these inequalities exist, and (iii) how and why they have changed in the past 20 years. Findings from this project will create real societal impact by improving ethnic minority people’s lives through better understanding of the issues affecting their life chances and healthy ageing.

The project is funded by the Nuffield Foundation and led by Dr Laia Bécares from the University of Sussex