Migrant and ethnic minority health

Abstract

European populations have become increasingly ethnically diverse as a result of migration, and evidence supports the existence of health inequalities between ethnic groups in Europe. This chapter addresses two main issues. First, we examine the pathways that are considered causal to inequalities in health related to migration and ethnicity. Thereto we will first define the concepts of migration and ethnicity, briefly review the various groups of migrants and ethnic minorities in Europe, and introduce a conceptual model that specifies the link and causal pathways between ethnicity and health. Then we use the example of ethnic inequalities in cardiovascular disease and diabetes to illustrate the conceptual model. The second issue concerns the potential contribution from the health-care system to minimize the ethnic inequalities in health. As a public health sector, we should do all we can to substantiate the potential gains that are waiting there. We will show that diversity-responsive care means that care provision should take the factors that link migration, ethnicity and health, as outlined in the conceptual model, effectively into account. This can only be realized if diversity-responsiveness is recognized as an essential element of quality of care at all levels in the health-care system: the care provider, the health-care organization and the policy level.