University of Greenwich Shares Health Lessons with US
This summer, 30 students and two professors from the University of Washington, Seattle, will be here in Greenwich to see what lessons they can take back to the US, particularly on developing health care that meets the needs of African Americans.
Dr Allan McNaught, Principal Lecturer in Health Development, who is leading the initiative, says: “Public health is poor in the US. There are huge disparities in the health status of black and white Americans; while most white Americans meet similar standards to Europeans, large numbers of black Americans have a health status closer to that of sub-Saharan Africa.
“Ethnic minorities in the UK also do less well, but do better than minorities in the US. Why? What are the causes and factors? There is still a lot we don’t know.”
The School of Public Health at Washington has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the School of Health and Social Care at Greenwich to collaborate on research, teaching and staff and student exchanges. The causes for the differences in health care received by ethnic minorities will be one area of research.
Allan says: “The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is funding Washington to establish a Department of Global Health and one of its aims is to encourage learning about health and health services between developed countries. There is a lot we can learn from each other. The Americans are more advanced at understanding and applying notions of cultural competency and studying diversity, for instance knowing how different ethnic groups metabolise medicines. In the UK we are more advanced at actually delivering services to diverse populations because access to services is easier.”
And he says the UK needs to gather more evidence on the impact of US-style marketisation in the health service before it implements further reform. "The US spends 10 times more per person than we do, yet gets worse outcomes.”
The collaboration will include local authorities and Primary Care Trusts in London, Kent and Medway.
For images, interviews and information contact:
Hester Brown
Press Officer
University of Greenwich
Tel: 020 8331 7663
hester.brown@gre.ac.uk
Information for editors:
- Dr Allan McNaught has had a long-term interest in race equality in health care in policy and practical terms. He conducted pioneering research in West Lambeth Health Authority in 1984-87 on how an inner city health authority and its providers responded to the health needs and practices with respect to equal opportunities in employment. This research was published as Race and Health Policy (Croom Helm, 1988) which remains a key text in this area of study.
- The first Annual Study Abroad programme for some 30 US students will take place during August-September 2007 at the Avery Hill Campus. The programme will focus on Ethnic Minority health care in the UK, drawing a link between Britain’s colonial history and the social-economic and political position of ethnic minorities in the UK. The programme will include field visits and research in the region.
- People of African origin and other ethnic minority groups tend to be the most disadvantaged in health terms in the US and UK. Social inequality offers some explanation but there are also other factors at work, for instance in the way that health workers are trained and how they respond to minority patients, as well as how health products and treatments are developed. These are some of the areas the two universities will research, which will help in the development of public health policies and improving access to minorities.