Black and minority ethnic groups
According to the 2021 Census, people from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) group backgrounds make up 26 per cent of the borough of Rochdale population (Office for National Statistics).
The JSNA approach to inequalities
One of the key components of the JSNA is to identify inequalities in health and wellbeing experienced by different population groups in the local authority area.
We're often reliant on research and studies at a national level in order to identify examples of these inequalities. The findings are then applied to our population structure and added to our own local evidence in order to understand the inequalities present in these populations at a local level.
Health issues in black and minority ethnic groups
Research by the Black Health Agency for Equality in 2013 found that differences in the health of black and other minority groups are most prominent in the following areas:
- Mental health
- Cancer
- Heart disease and related illnesses such as stroke
- HIV
- Tuberculosis
- Diabetes
It also noted that the increase in the number of older black and other minority people in the UK is likely to lead to a greater need for the provision of dementia services as well as the provision of culturally competent social care and palliative care.
It's important to note that the latest borough-wide data on ethnicity, particularly at lower geographic levels, is from the 2011 Census and will continue to be for some time.
Statistics on black and minority ethnic groups
- Office for National Statistics (ONS) Census 2021 Statistics - the 2021 Census remains the most up to date source of ethnicity data that covers the whole borough population and it's best accessed using the ONS Nomis platform.
- Office for National Statistics (ONS) Cultural Identity Statistics - this information shows how people in the UK see themselves today in terms of ethnicity, sexual identity, religion and language, and how this has changed over time.
- Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) - Public Health Outcomes Framework Inequalities data - this data tool presents data for the indicators in the framework for the most recent period available and accompanying trend data where possible. Inequalities data are provided where these are available and can be selected by clicking the Inequalities tab when viewing the data.
Guidance and information on black and minority ethnic groups
- Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) - Health inequalities: reducing ethnic inequalities - The CHIME tool brings together data relating to the impacts of COVID-19, for factors such as mortality rates, hospital admissions, confirmed cases, vaccinations and life expectancy. It presents inequality breakdowns, including by age, sex, ethnic group, level of deprivation, population density and region.
- Black Health Agency for Equality - State of health report for black and minority ethnic group - a comprehensive review of national research on the health inequalities faced by black and other minority ethnic groups.
- Cabinet Office - Race Disparity Audit - a review of data held by the Government which aims to discover how people of different ethnicities are treated across public services. It includes sections on communities, poverty and living standards, education, employment, housing, policing, justice and health.
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance - black and minority ethnic groups - NICE has produced a number of documents that cover BME groups including guidance on working with local communities on obesity, smokeless tobacco in South Asian communities and preventing ill-health and premature death in black and other minority ethnic groups.