The health of women from ethnic minority groups in england

Key messages

1 in 4 women in England is from an ethnic minority group, of whom many are migrants. Women from ethnic minority groups experience inequalities in health, and in access to, and experience of, health care services.

The risks to health and health inequalities in women from ethnic minority groups start early and are apparent across the life course. Their specific health needs are often not fully recognised or addressed by health care services.

Women from ethnic minority groups are not a homogenous group. Patterns of health, and the determinants of health, differ significantly between and within ethnic groups.

Women from most ethnic minority groups experience lower overall mortality than women from the White British group. Women from the Chinese group have the best health outcomes overall. Mortality is highest in the White Gypsy or Irish Traveller group. The mortality advantage in most ethnic minority migrant groups, and in second UK-born generations, wanes over time due to environmental and behavioural changes resulting from cultural assimilation.

Women from South Asian and Black groups experience a higher burden of some common preventable conditions and of maternal mortality.

The causes of health inequalities across women’s life course are multifactorial and intersect. Health outcomes are shaped by the socio-economic, behavioural and wider determinants of health, and these differ significantly between and among ethnic minority groups. For example, on several socio-economic measures, women from Indian and Chinese groups compare favourably with other ethnic groups, including White British, whereas women from Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Black groups are most affected by socio-economic adversity and poverty.

Some women from ethnic minority groups face obstacles when it comes to staying healthy and accessing health care due to the way health care services are structured – this includes language barriers, lack of interpreters, services that are not culturally competent and poor health literacy.

There is a wider societal context in which deprivation and structural racism can reinforce inequalities among ethnic minority groups – for example, in education, housing and employment – which in turn can have a negative impact on health. Racism and discrimination can also impact negatively on the physical and mental health of women from ethnic minority groups and their interaction with health care services.

Policy-makers, ICBs and local partners have an important role to play in improving the health of women from ethnic minority groups and addressing the inequalities described in this long read.