A narrative review into gendered ethnic mental health inequalities before and during the Covid-19 pandemic

Aims Literature published before the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted that mental health inequalities are closely linked to the social determinants of health, specifically that mental health outcomes may be worse for some groups, including women from diverse ethnic backgrounds, due to existing societal inequalities. This narrative review sought to identify the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on these inequalities, referred to as gendered ethnic mental health inequalities, within the United Kingdom (UK). Method/Rationale A thematic approach was used to review the literature related to mental health, ethnicity and gender published between January 2020 and January 2023, to identify key themes. Findings Three themes were identified relating to mental health, ethnicity and gender – general gendered ethnic mental health inequalities, specific parental ethnic mental health inequalities, and maternal ethnic mental health inequalities. The findings highlighted that the Covid-19 pandemic and its restrictions had an enhanced negative effect on existing gendered ethnic mental health inequalities. Limitations Although this narrative review includes background information from the decade before the Covid-19 pandemic and literature from the three years of the pandemic, it is acknowledged that these inequalities are deep-rooted and were in existence before this period. The study also only reviews literature published up until January 2023, and so does not assess the longer-term impact on mental health inequalities. Conclusions Further investigations should now be undertaken to assess the longer-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on gendered ethnic mental health inequalities.