Briefing Paper 18
Effective methods of engaging black and minority ethnic communities within health care settings. March 2010
Evidence shows that poor engagement with black and minority ethnic communities in health care still exists, resulting in unequal access and care. Barriers to effective engagement with black and minority ethnic communities include those of language, communication and culture, as well as a lack of diversity in the health care workforce. A range of methods exists that can be utilised to enhance engagement with black and minority ethnic communities, as shown by the existence of good practice examples from London, Leeds and Bradford.
Author(s): Saima Latif
[Briefing Paper]

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Briefing Paper 7
User participation in health care services. February 2008
Low take-up of services among black and minority ethnic communities is still frequently explained as being due to ‘cultural’ and social preferences within these communities, despite evidence to suggest that users have little faith in those services that exist and lack support to use them. With poor representation of local communities amongst the NHS workforce, especially at senior levels, black and minority ethnic users also emphasise the need for better training for all staff. Despite the importance given by the Department of Health to ‘choice’ and involvement, user participation still remains an ambition rather than a reality for black and minority ethnic users. However, BME user participation is key to improving the organisation and delivery of health care services.
Author(s): Ossie Stuart
[Briefing Paper]

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Briefing Paper 2
Effective communication with service users. March 2007
Communication between service providers and people from minority ethnic communities has been highlighted as significant in many studies on inequalities in health and social care, with poor levels of communication limiting access to services and on relationships between service users and professionals. This paper argues that communication can be improved in many ways: by providing information about services in a range of languages and formats; by employing staff from minority ethnic communities at all organisational levels to improve cultural competence and by improving communication at the individual, family and instutional level.
Author(s): Ghazala Mir
[Briefing Paper]

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