Scottish survey of diabetes services for minority ethnic groups

BACKGROUND: In the UK, all ethnic minority groups have higher rates of diabetes than the general population. Although there have been a number of projects to assess diabetic care amongst minority ethnic groups in the United Kingdom, little is known about the extent to which the needs of ethnic minority groups are actually met by the National Health Service (NHS) Scotland. Therefore we conducted this study to understand of the current situation for diabetes care available to minority ethnic groups in Scotland. METHODS: We conducted this cross-sectional study in all health boards in Scotland. A questionnaire was designed based on expert comments. It was completed by Local Health Care Cooperatives (LHCC) managers, chairs, diabetes specialist nurses and public health practitioners. RESULTS: 57 of questionnaires were returned (response rate = 69.5%). Of these LHCCs, 71% responded that diabetes was part of their LHCC plan. However 69% answered that ethnic group was not recorded by community services and GPs, and 80% of LHCCs did not monitor trends of complications of diabetes by ethnic group. CONCLUSION: Improvement is needed in quality, completeness, and availability of minority ethnic group data for diabetes at a national level, particularly if NHS Primary Care Organisations are to be responsible for providing diabetes care as laid out in the Scottish Diabetes Framework

Comparing policies to tackle ethnic inequalities in health: Belgium 1 Scotland 4

Ethnic-minority health is a public health priority in Europe. This study compares strategies for tackling ethnic inequalities in health from two countries, Scotland and Belgium. Methods: We compared the countries using the Whitehead framework. Official policy documents were retrieved and reviewed and two databases related to immigrant health policies were also used. Ethnic inequalities in health were compared using the UK and Belgian Censuses of 2001. We analysed the recognition of the problem, the policies and the services and described ethnic health inequalities. Results: Scotland has recognized the problem of ethnic inequalities in health, thanks to better data and the Scottish Government has come up with a bold strategy. Belgium is a later starter, unable to properly monitor ethnic inequalities. In addition, there is no clear government commitment to tackling either health inequalities or ethnic inequalities in health. Both countries provide health-care services to ethnic minority groups through the mainstream services, although ethnic minority groups have more choice in Belgium than in Scotland. Overall, ethnic heath inequalities are lower in Scotland than in Belgium. Conclusion: Scotland has provided a more advanced and comprehensive response to tackling ethnic inequalities in health than Belgium. It has acknowledged that discrimination exists and that ethnic minority groups may have different needs. Belgium still assumes non-discrimination in health care and effectively denies the need for policy to tailor services to meet these needs. In Scotland, public organizations have been made accountable for promoting equality in health. This is an important contribution to European health policy