title: Understanding the interconnections between ethnicity, gender, social class and health:experiences of minority ethnic women in britain.
abstract: This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study about the impact of ethnicity, gender, and socio-economic status upon health, and use and access to appropriate service provision. A total of 54 interviews were carried out with women who identified themselves as Muslim and Bangladeshi. Health and social care professionals were also interviewed. However, the focus of this paper is upon the ways in which women conceptualised their health and social care needs and concerns. Our findings indicate that individual characteristics serve to mediate the influence of gender and ethnicity on health, but for the women in our study, socio-economic status represents the most potent factor in adversely affecting their health status and access to health care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Social Care, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 OEX, UK. R.Barn@rhul.ac.uk
authors.forename: Ravinder
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barn
authors.forename: Kalwant
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sidhu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001459:Bangladesh / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007514:Islam / Q000523:psychology; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D006113:United Kingdom; D016387:Women's Health / Q000208:ethnology*