Reasons why health inequalities existHow does race impact health inequality?

There are many causes of health inequalities including poverty, lifestyle choices, gender and race.

Part of Modern StudiesInequality

How does race impact health inequality?

Evidence of race or ethnic health inequalities in Scotland is not widely available but statistically, ethnic minority groups tend to have better health than the majority White population. Having said that, for some health statistics some minority groups fare worse than others and patterns vary from one health condition to the next.

For example, the Scottish Government reported in 2015 that:

  • most ethnic minority groups reported better health than the majority ‘White Scottish’ group
  • Bangladeshi, Pakistani and White Gypsy/Traveller men tended to report more long-term limiting health problems or disability compared to the ‘White: Scottish’ group. This was also true of Pakistani and White Gypsy/Traveller men
  • Chinese, ‘White: Polish’ and 'Other Asian' women in Scotland reported the lowest levels of long-term limiting health or disability problems compared to ‘White: Scottish’ women. This was also the case for ‘White: Polish’, African and Chinese men
  • Some illnesses such as diabetes are more common in people from ethnic minority backgrounds
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