Under-representation of minority ethnic groups in research — call for action

People have been coming to the UK since the beginning of recorded time.1 The latest Census shows that England and Wales have become more ethnically diverse with the majority of individuals still identifying themselves as white British (80.6%).2Over the past two decades, as a result of economic and political changes, migration patterns into the UK have shifted from postcolonial migration particularly referring to relatively discreet communities from the Indian sub-continent and West Indies settling in the UK, to a new type of migration with many different people arriving from many different places. This shift in pattern has resulted in a new kind of diversity which Vertovec3 has coined ‘super-diversity’ characterised by overlapping variables including country of origin (ethnicity, language, religious tradition, regional and/or local identities), migration experience (influenced by sex, age, education, specific social networks, economic factors), and legal status (encompassing a variety of entitlements and restrictions). Thus ethnic and cultural diversity is becoming more complex. While diversity has many benefits for the economy, science, and culture, it also presents health services and research with the challenges of meeting the needs of a population that is super-diverse in terms of their health profiles and behaviour…