Setting up a community genetic service for families in Walsall at higher genetic risk of infant mortality and morbidity

Health inequalities exist between ethnic groups, an important example of this being infant mortality with babies of mothers born in Pakistan having double and babies of mothers born in the Caribbean having 63% higher rates than the national average. West Midlands Ethnic Minority Liaison Committee (WELCOME) and partners organised a conference to arrive at consensus among experts and stakeholders and to make recommendations around reducing infant mortality. One key area discussed, which is often contentious, was cousin marriage: its potential impact on infant and perinatal mortality and what health service response to this should be. Recommendations included: the setting up of a community genetic service in areas with higher risk of recessive disorders as a consequence of cousin marriage; genetic education to the wider public and health professionals; and community engagement, including community and religious leaders. This paper outlines how these recommendations were arrived at, the potential barriers identified in addressing this issue and the process by which service change was achieved with an aim to improve the outcome of infant and perinatal health among groups with higher burdens of genetic disorders in Walsall

Unwilling Citizens? Muslim young people and national identity

Muslim youth ‘identities’ are at the forefront of recent policy concern in the UK. The 2001 riots in northern towns apparently revealed alienated Muslim communities living ‘parallel lives’ and failing to share British identity. Whilst highly contested, the resulting new priority of Community Cohesion and debates around ‘Britishness’ have moved forward. The 7/7 bombings and subsequent terror plots arguably confirmed the picture of Muslim youth oppositional to British values, prompting the blaming of multiculturalism and attempts to ‘prevent violent extremism’. Such policies have offered little evidence on how Muslim young people actually view their identity. This article draws on research in Oldham and Rochdale to explore how Muslim young people understand their Identifications and how this relates to understandings of national identity. In doing so, it explores the role of multiculturalism and community cohesion in the identities of young British Muslims and the implications for policy