The article argues that older ethnic minority people are often excluded or under-represented in mainstream ageing research, making policy and service planning weaker. It argues that the absence of adequate data is not a neutral technical issue but a form of institutional neglect. The main issue is that policy makers cannot design equitable ageing, health or social-care services when the evidence base fails to represent older minority communities or disaggregates them poorly. No new primary sample; discusses evidence gaps and older ethnic minority exclusion from population studies, including limited UK survey data. Main findings are exclusion from population data undermines evidence-based policy and reproduces institutional racism. More inclusive survey design, ethnic oversampling, and disaggregated analysis are needed to make later-life inequalities visible.
Geography: London, UK
Authors: Laia Becares, Dharmi Kapadia & James Nazroo
Year: 2020
Citation: Becares, L., Kapadia, D., & Nazroo, J. (2020). Neglect of older ethnic minority people in UK research and policy: exclusion from population studies is a form of institutional racism. BMJ, 368, m212.
DOI or Weblink: https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m212