Anti-racist interventions to reduce ethnic disparities in healthcare in the UK: an umbrella review and findings from healthcare, education and criminal justice

Abstract

ObjectivesTo assess the evidence for anti-racist interventions which aim to reduce ethnic disparities in healthcare, with a focus on implementation in the UK healthcare system.DesignUmbrella review.Data sourcesEmbase, Medline, Social Policy and Practice, Social Care Online and Web of Science were searched for publications from the year 2000 up to November 2023.Eligibility criteriaOnly systematic and scoping reviews of anti-racist interventions reported in English were included. Reviews were excluded if no interventions were reported, no comparator interventions were reported or the study was primarily descriptive.Data extraction and synthesisA narrative synthesis approach was used to integrate and categorise the evidence on anti-racist interventions for healthcare. Quality appraisal (including risk of bias) was assessed using the AMSTAR-2 tool.ResultsA total of 29 reviews are included in the final review. 26 are from the healthcare sector and three are from education and criminal justice. The most promising interventions targeting individuals include group-based health education and providing culturally tailored interventions. On a community level, participation in all aspects of care pathway development that empowers ethnic minority communities may provide an effective approach to reducing ethnic health disparities. Interventions to improve quality of care for conditions with disproportionately worse outcomes in ethnic minority communities show promise. At a policy level, structural interventions including minimum wage policies and integrating non-medical interventions such as housing support in clinical care has some evidence for improving outcomes in ethnic minority communities.ConclusionsMany of the included studies were low or critically low quality due to methodological or reporting limitations. For programme delivery, different types of pathway integration, and providing a more person-centred approach with fewer steps for patients to navigate can contribute to reducing disparities. For organisations, there is an overemphasis on individual behaviour change and recommendations should include a shift in focus and resources to policies and practices that seek to dismantle institutional and systemic racism through a multilevel approach.