Tackling ethnic health inequalities

Ethnic inequalities in health were identified as a priority for action in Choosing Health. The London Health Observatory has shown that while ethnicity information is inconsistently recorded or not recorded at all (see table below), it is possible to use it to inform action.

Source: smoking cessation data, GHS and 2001 Census

Notes: The quit rates have been defined as the number of people by ethnic group and gender who have attended NHS Stop Smoking Services and set a quit date (using data for 2002/3,2003/04) per 1,000 current smokers. The number of current smokers by ethnic group (for the five broad ethnic groups only) and gender is estimated using data from the General Household Survey.

The first national analysis of ethnic differentials in access to NHS smoking cessation services has shown that in England as a whole, 90 per cent of men and almost 95 per cent of women who have set a quit date are white. The rates are significantly lower in the other ethnic groups. Even more striking is the much higher levels of access by women than men in all ethnic groups. The factors affecting such inequity are complex. But until they are understood and overcome it will be difficult to reach cessation and inequalities targets in some part of the country.

Further analyses of ethnic differentials in health, healthcare and the workforce can be found in the Association of Public Health Observatories’ latest ‘Indications of Public Health in the English Regions’

The report and other information is also available at www.lho.org.uk

Ethnicity data : Percent of records lacking ethnicity data