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Caring for one's grandchildren has become a more common experience for individuals partly as a result of a longer overlap between the lives of grandparents and their grandchildren. Existing research shows that around 50 per cent of grandparents engage in some grandparental child care in most European countries, however, this proportion is higher among older people with a migrant background, partly due to greater economic necessity among migrant families. Research has also highlighted ethnic differences in parents' child-care selection, even after controlling for their socio-economic status. Building on these strands of work, this paper investigates the differences in the use of (grandparental) child care among parents from different Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups in the United Kingdom, using data from Understanding Society. The results show that parents from Other White, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and African communities are less likely to use child care than White British parents, while the opposite is true for Caribbean parents. However, among parents using child care, individuals from the Other White, Caribbean and African groups are less likely than the White British majority to be using grandparental child care as a supplement to other child-care types, or on its own. Ethnic differentials in the use of child care per se and grandparental child care in particular, have significant policy implications, and may mask other kinds of ethnic differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SummaryIntroduction1Definitions of ethnic groups and demographics of minority ethnic groups in the UK○ 1.1 Definitions of 'ethnic groups' and 'ethnicity'○ 1.2 Demographics and characteristics of minority ethnic groups in the UK– Countries of origin– Age/sex distribution and life expectancy– Geographical distribution and size of household– Religious beliefs– Education and employment patternsKey points2Overview of the health profile and dietary habits of minority ethnic groups in the UK○ 2.1 Available surveys○ 2.2 Overview of the health profiles among adults from minority ethnic groups– Overall health– Cardiovascular disease (CVD)– Coronary heart disease (CHD)– Stroke– Type 2 diabetes– Obesity○ 2.3 Possible causes of increased disease risk among minority ethnic groups○ 2.4 Smoking, drinking and physical activity habits○ 2.5 Dietary habits and nutritional status○ 2.6 Overview of the health profiles and dietary and health behaviour patterns of children from minority ethnic groups– Overall health– Diet and health behaviour patterns○ 2.7 Gaps in data availabilityKey points3Factors affecting food choice– Income and socio‐economic status– Food availability and access– Awareness of healthy eating– Religious beliefs– Food beliefs– Time and cooking skills– Generation and genderKey points4Traditional diets of minority ethnic groups○ 4.1 Overview of traditional diets of minority ethic groups– South Asians– African‐Caribbeans– Chinese○ 4.2 Dietary acculturation○ 4.3 Nutritional composition of ethnic‐style cuisineKey points5Nutritional interventions and health promotion among minority ethnic groups○ 5.1 Effective nutritional interventions○ 5.2 Health promotion interventions to prevent problems associated with fasting○ 5.3 Priorities for nutritional interventions and health promotion○ 5.4 Using behaviour change models○ 5.5 Current community initiatives○ 5.6 Catering for institutionalised individuals○ 5.7 Recommendations for future research, policy and practiceKey points6Conclusion• Acknowledgements• References Summary: According to the latest census, non‐white minority ethnic groups made up 7.9% of the UK's population in 2001. The largest of these groups were South Asians, Black African‐Caribbeans and Chinese. Studies have shown that some minority ethnic groups are more likely to experience poorer health outcomes compared with the mainstream population. These include higher rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD), type 2 diabetes and obesity. The differences in health outcomes may reflect interactions between diet and other health behaviours, genetic predisposition and developmental programming, all of which vary across different groups. As is the case for the rest of the population, the dietary habits of minority ethnic groups are affected by a wide variety of factors, but acquiring a better understanding of these can help health professionals and educationalists to recognise the needs of these groups and help them to make healthier food choices. Unfortunately, to date, there have been few tailored, well‐designed and evaluated nutritional interventions in the UK targeting minority ethnic population groups. Further needs assessment and better evaluation of nutritional interventions have been recommended to enhance the understanding of the effectiveness of different approaches amongst minority ethnic groups. This briefing paper will provide an overview of the health profile, dietary habits and other health behaviours of the three largest non‐white minority ethnic groups in the UK, explore the factors affecting their food choices, provide a summary of their traditional diets and review the evidence base to identify the factors that support successful nutrition interventions in these groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To explore ethnic and generational differences in six physical health outcomes and whether these differences can be explained by health-related behaviors and socio-economic status. Design: Multivariate analyses using nationally representative data in 2010–2011 on self-assessed general health, activity-limiting illness, doctor-diagnosed diabetes, doctor-diagnosed high blood pressure, doctor-diagnosed asthma and body mass index from 21,651 White British, 997 Pakistanis, 695 Bangladeshis, 1,126 Indians, 573 Black Caribbeans and 873 Black Africans, adjusted for age, gender, health-related behaviors and socio-economic status. Results: While ethnicity is of great importance in patterning health differences, we find that ethnic differences in activity-limiting illness, diabetes, asthma and body mass index vary across generations. Health-related behaviors and socio-economic status are shown to partly explain ethnic and generational differences in some health outcomes. Conclusions: This study enables a better understanding of more nuanced patterns of ethnic and generational differences in health, highlighting the need to understand ethnicity as a fluid and changing characteristic, and the importance of socio-economic status and health-related behaviors in shaping ethnic differences in certain health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pay-for-performance rewards health-care providers by paying them more if they succeed in meeting performance targets. A new contract for general practitioners in the United Kingdom represents the most radical shift towards pay-for-performance seen in any health-care system. The contract provides an important opportunity to address disparities in chronic disease management between ethnic and socioeconomic groups. We examined disparities in management of people with diabetes and intermediate clinical outcomes within a multiethnic population in primary care before and after the introduction of the new contract in April 2004.Methods and Findings: We conducted a population-based longitudinal survey, using electronic general practice records, in an ethnically diverse part of southwest London. Outcome measures were prescribing levels and achievement of national treatment targets (HbA1c < or = 7.0%; blood pressure [BP] < 140/80 mm Hg; total cholesterol < or = 5 mmol/l or 193 mg/dl). The proportion of patients reaching treatment targets for HbA1c, BP, and total cholesterol increased significantly after the implementation of the new contract. The extents of these increases were broadly uniform across ethnic groups, with the exception of the black Caribbean patient group, which had a significantly lower improvement in HbA1c (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.75, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.57-0.97) and BP control (AOR 0.65, 95% CI 0.53-0.81) relative to the white British patient group. Variations in prescribing and achievement of treatment targets between ethnic groups present in 2003 were not attenuated in 2005.Conclusions: Pay-for-performance incentives have not addressed disparities in the management and control of diabetes between ethnic groups. Quality improvement initiatives must place greater emphasis on minority communities to avoid continued disparities in mortality from cardiovascular disease and the other major complications of diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines inequalities in the self-reported health of men and women from white and minority ethnic groups in the UK using representative data from the Health Survey for England, 1993-1996. The results show substantially poorer health among all minority ethnic groups compared to whites of working-age. The absence of gender inequality in health among white adults contrasts with higher morbidity for many minority ethnic women compared to men in the same ethnic group. The analysis addresses whether socio-economic inequality is a potential explanation for this pattern of health inequality using measures of educational level, employment status, occupational social class and material deprivation. There are marked socio-economic differences according to gender and ethnic group: high morbidity is concentrated among adults who are most socio-economically disadvantaged, notably Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. Logistic regression analyses show that socio-economic inequality can account for a sizeable proportion of the health disadvantage experienced by minority ethnic men and women, but gender inequality in minority ethnic health remains after adjusting for socio-economic characteristics.