Research into practice: Understanding ethnic differences in healthcare usage and outcomes in general practice

摘要

The Race Relations Act of 1968 required all public bodies to consider the race equality implications in all policies. Since then, the official collection of ethnic group statistics has been mandated as an essential first step towards identifying and addressing ethnic inequalities. Capturing ethnic group information in routine health records is recognised in the UK as a necessary prerequisite to addressing need and inequalities in health service usage and health-related outcomes. As recommended by the Commission for Racial Equality, ethnic identity must be chosen by the individual. As such, ethnicity refers to the individual's self-perception, rather than how he or she appears to others, and recognises that an individual's self-conceptualisation may change overtime.