Ethnic minorities: data from surveys

Better Together

There has been no analysis of in-patient experiences GP or local health service experiences in Scotland by ethnicity for more than a decade.

The Better Together Scottish inpatient survey started in 2010. Results for 2010 were analysed by protected characteristic in the Variations in the Experiences of Inpatients in Scotland report (2011). 

In the Variations in the Experiences of Inpatients in Scotland report, owing to small numbers in non-white ethnic groups of inpatients the data were analysed by comparing white and non-white groups. 2% were non-white. Although there were generally no differences in experience between the two groups, for the 56 questions non-white patients reported better experience for 7 and worse experience for 3. There was no clear pattern of better or worse experiences distinguishing white or non-white patients. The 2014 report found a general improvement in patient experience over the previous survey, but changes to the survey design may have influenced this.

The Scottish Patient Experience Survey of GP and Local NHS Services 2011/12 Volume 3: Variation in the Experiences of Primary Care Patients  found some weak differences in peoples’ experiences by ethnicity. Asian groups reported less positive experiences. The survey has now been renamed the Health and Care Experience Survey. Detailed information is available on the Public Health Scotland website. The latest results are for 2021/22, but no new analysis by ethnicity has been produced.

Understanding Society

Understanding Society is a UK-wide annual longitudinal survey, which includes around 1,500 households in Scotland. It includes interviews with around 8,000 of the households interviewed in the British Household Panel Survey. The survey collects information on new and ongoing health conditions, health service use, health behaviours (e.g. smoking, including e-cigarettes, and alcohol consumption) and mental health and wellbeing. Understanding Society includes a ethnic minority boost of over 6,000 adults from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Black Caribbean and Black African groups at a UK level. 

Scottish Core Survey Questions

The Scottish Core Survey Questions combines data on 20 harmonised questions collected by the Scottish Health Survey, Scottish Household Survey and Scottish Crime and Justice Survey. This includes estimates of the composition of the adult population (aged 16+) of Scotland by country of birth (UK, EU-27, Rest of World) and ethnic group (White Scottish, White British, White Polish, White other, Asian and Other). The latest results are for 2019.   

Scottish Health Survey

The Scottish Health Survey provides information on a wide range of health and lifestyle topics from a nationally representative sample. The survey was carried out in 1995, 1998 and 2003 and has now moved to a continuous design. The latest published are available on the website. Information on ethnic group is collected, but the number of respondents from minority ethnic groups is too small for useful local analyses.

The Scottish Health Survey Topic Report: Equality Groups by combining survey data from four consecutive years (2008-2011), achieved more in-depth analysis of minority groups with small populations. This showed, for ethnicity, that ethnic minority groups have often better health behaviours (for example lower alcohol consumption, smoking rates, better diet, and better health characteristics e.g. dental health. The exception was the incidence of CVD and diabetes in South Asian people. Some minority ethnic groups had lower participation in sport. Chinese people had the lowest obesity levels.  There appeared to be no statistically significant differences in wellbeing between ethnic groups.

Scottish Household Survey

The Scottish Household Survey is a continuous survey covering around 3,900 households each quarter with a focus on social justice, transport and housing issues. Information on smoking, limiting long-standing illness, health problems and disability is collected. Ethnic group is classified using the 2001 Scottish Census categories. While the numbers from ethnic minorities in any one year are too small for meaningful analyses there is scope to combine successive years of survey results.