Appendix 2: Research opportunities

Throughout the review, there have been clear evidence gaps in the research, at times we have had to look at international evidence, which is not necessarily transferable to a UK context. There remain significant data gaps in the national collection and analysis of both NHS and Local Government data and these need to be urgently addressed to visualize and respond to the needs of ethnic communities. There may be a need for specific research to understand why, despite decades of policy initiatives, ethnic data collection and analysis remains so poor in the public sector.

The following are some of the research gaps that have been identified from this review’s work:

• Understanding of the impact of culturally competent equality training on the behaviours of professionals and outcomes for patients/clients

• Understanding of the interventions that are most effective to improve health behaviours in different Black African and Black Caribbean communities

• Understanding of the linguistic barriers to health literacy for non-English speaking communities, especially concerning mental health and wellbeing.

Pilots and research

Pilots and commissioned research will help to address knowledge gaps across the themes and may help identify the most effective culturally sensitive interventions to address health inequalities affecting Black African and Black Caribbean populations in Birmingham, Lewisham and the UK. In many areas the evidence is weak. Pilot schemes and small projects should guide further large-scale research and support the implementation of the opportunities of action identified as part of BLACHIR.