Patients from minority ethnic groups have a disproportionately higher rate of emergency hospital admissions, according to research by Queen Mary University of London and Barts Health NHS Trust.
The study examined a range of different emergency admissions to hospitals across Barts Health NHS Trust including 203,182 adults over a six-year period. The results show that patients from minority ethnic groups made up a greater proportion of total admissions relative to the ethnic distribution of the east London background population, presented to hospital at younger ages, and had a distinct and earlier onset burden of comorbid diseases.
These findings support the hypothesis that healthcare inequalities unmasked by Covid-19 extend more generally across acute healthcare settings.
The study, published today in the Lancet’s EClinicalMedicine, found that:
Dr Yize Wan, Clinical Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London and Specialty Registrar in Intensive Care Medicine & Anaesthesia at Barts Health NHS Trust said: “The effects of ethnic and social inequalities on patient outcomes in acute healthcare beyond Covid-19 remain poorly understood. Here we provide further evidence that ethnic and socioeconomic disparities are associated with important differences in health outcomes especially those not reflected by commonly used measures such as survival rates. In particular, there are differences in healthcare use, age and comorbidity profiles across ethnic groups which can mask disparities in healthcare outcomes.”
“Further research is needed to understand and address community level causes of health inequalities and help identify population specific interventions that can improve overall health status.”
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