Ethnicity & Health

This chapter critically interrogates how ethnicity is used as a concept and construct in health research, data monitoring, and in policy and practice, including how definitions of ethnicity are related to the concepts of race and racialization, and the implications of using ethnic categories in health research. We summarise the ways that ethnic inequalities in physical and mental health at various points in the lifecourse are evident, and propose that central reasons for these inequalities are racism and socioeconomic inequalities. We consider how ethnic minority people’s experience of healthcare has highlighted the ways in which their racialization has adversely affected the quality of that care, and ultimately their health. We conclude the chapter with reflections on how researchers can responsibly theorize ethnicity in research studies without compounding racialization and essentialization, and highlight the current challenges to ensuring research knowledge leads to progressive policy and practice, to tackle longstanding and contemporary inequities in health and healthcare.