Influences on hospital admission for asthma in south Asian and white adults: qualitative interview study

Journal article

Disparities in the incidence, prevalence, morbidity and mortality rates of many respiratory diseases are evident between ethnic groups. Biological, cultural, and environmental factors related to ethnicity can all contribute to the differences in respiratory health observed between ethnic minority groups, but inequalities observed are most commonly due to lower socio-economic status. People who migrate within a country or across an international border may experience an improvement in respiratory health associated with improvements in socioeconomic status. However, migrants may also experience worse health outcomes in destination countries, as they are faced by barriers in language and culture, discrimination, exclusion, and limited access to health services. Whilst some high quality studies investigating ethnicity and respiratory health are available, further research into ethnic differences is needed. Improving the recording of ethnicity in health records, addressing barriers to accessing respiratory health care and improving cultural literacy more generally are some of the ways that inequalities can be tackled

Authors: Griffiths, C; Kaur, G; Gantley, M; Feder, G; Hillier, S

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• Journal: British Medical Journal
• Volume: 323
• Issue: 7319
• Pages: 962-962
• Publication date: 2001-10-27
• DOI: 10.1136/bmj.323.7319.962
• EISSN: 0959-8138
• ISSN: 1759-2151
• Language: English
• Keywords: Medicine; Family medicine; Qualitative research; Asthma; Sociology; Psychology; White (mutation); Anthropology; Gerontology; Internal medicine