What is Ethnicity and Ethnic Data Collection

What is Ethnicity?

Ethnicity is a measure of a close cultural connection, as opposed to ‘race’, nationality or citizenship. It involves sharing certain background characteristics, such as a shared history, common ancestors, geographical origin, language, culture and religion. This provides people from an ethnic group with a distinct identity as seen by both themselves and others.

How does Ethnicity impact on health?

An important issue that influences health is whether a person belongs to a majority or minority ethnic group.

People from minority ethnic groups can often experience poorer health than the rest of the population. Low incomes, poor working and housing conditions, poor social networks and nutrition as well as lack of access to health services can impact on the health of those from minority ethnic groups who have immigrated to a new country. This also affects the health of their children and future generations.

What is Ethnic Data Collection?

Ethnic Data Collection is the process of collecting, recording and analysing information (data) that we collect from patients or service users. Ethnic Data Collection helps to identify and measure if our health system is serving everyone equally and make sure that our services meet the needs of a diverse population including Ethnic Minorities.

Why do you ask about Ethnicity?

Ethnic Data Collection will show the uptake of health services among different ethnic groups. This could help to identify whether discrimination, either direct or indirect, is occurring in the way that services are provided.

Ethnic Data Collection will help to:

• Design and resource services that are targeted at under-represented groups and ensures that these services are appropriate for their needs
• Indicates the need for language and interpreting services
• Provide a measurement of whether changes that have been made to a service improves access and better health outcomes for under-represented groups.
• Supports more accurate diagnoses

Collecting information about ethnic group and analysing it alongside clinical data can provide evidence of how the rates and progression of many conditions can vary in different groups depending on their ethnicity. The effectiveness of treatments provided can also depend on ethnicity. This information can be used by health services to target groups most at risk of particular conditions.

What to record?

The Census of Population is carried out by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) every five years and has recorded ethnic or cultural background since 2006.

The HSE believes using census categories creates a standardised approach for collecting data.

Each HSE department should record the census categories on;

• ethnic group/background

and in addition record;

• language spoken

 It may also be useful for some services to collect;

• nationality
• religion

How to ask about Ethnicity?

Treat everyone the same

• Ask everybody the question, regardless of whether the answers seem obvious
• Explain that there are no consequences if the person does not answer the questions

Explain

• The purpose of collecting the data at the beginning and what it will be used for
• The benefits of Ethnic Data Collection
• That there are no consequences if they don’t answer the question

Demonstrate

• Good listening and
• Communication skills.