- presentation by Nizz Sabir, Rotherham Council of Mosques
Minutes:
NizzSabir, Vice-Chairman, Rotherham Council of Mosques, was welcomed to the meeting. Nizz had prepared a presentation in relation to the identified health and wellbeing needs of Rotherham’s Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities.
· Rotherham MBC estimated that there were 19,000 people from BME communities in 2009, which equated to 7.5% of the local population;
· The bulk of the BME community lived in the Central Ward according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation (2007). Key drivers of deprivation related to: -
o Employment;
o Health and Disability;
o Education and Skills.
The presentation covered a number of underlying detriments to health and wellbeing in the BME community, these were: -
· The BME community was less likely to be in paid employment (e.g. 20% unemployed in Pakistani community compared to 6% in White British community);
· Less likely to have a formal educational qualification;
· Several years ago children and young people from BME communities were shown to be amongst the lowest attaining groups for GCSE results;
· Employment difficulties;
· Housing – impact of overcrowding relating to infant mortality, respiratory conditions in children, rates of serious infectious diseases in adults and infections with Helibacter Pylori, which could have implications for growth and diseases of the digestive system;
· Infant mortality –
o Babies born to mothers who were born in Pakistan had twice the risk of dying in the first year of their life;
o South Asian women had more stillbirths than average. This was because of birth defects caused by marriages with close relatives and problems with premature deliveries.
· Lifestyle and Risk Factors -
o Smoking – more Bangladeshi and Pakistani men smoke than average;
o High prevalence of smoking amongst Pakistani and Irish males;
o The Health Survey England (HSE) 2004, also reported high levels of tobacco chewing in BME groups.
· Physical Activity -
o Low rates of physical activity especially in women of Bangladeshi or Pakistani origin;
o Female only facilities (Rotherham leisure centre, swimming);
o Lack of independence;
o Language barrier;
o Knowledge of services.
· Diet -
o Diet typically worse for those born in the UK, compared to first generation migrants;
o Changing diet with migration;
o Hard to find familiar foods;
o Binge eating, a lack of knowledge about dietary intake and food content was an issue;
o Increasing popularity of fast food, including cultural pressures and aspirations.
· Mental Health:-
o Research into young Asian women suggested that the factors affecting emotional health were similar across ethnic groups, but access to support was worse for Asian women. Some barriers were: -
o Male privilege;
o Fear of not fitting into a tight-knit community;
o Fear of offending family honour;
o Social isolation;
o Language problems;
o Fear of racism;
o Surprisingly little research into mental health needs of Asian men;
o Caring for family members could create burdens on members of the community.
· High risk: -
o Members of the Pakistani community were six times more likely to have diabetes. Highest risk was in Pakistani women, who also had an increased risk of heart disease, retinopathy, kidney disease and strokes;
o In Rotherham hospital admissions due to diabetes problems in Pakistani people had increased by 77% between 2003 and 2007.
The members of the Health and Wellbeing Board thanked Nizz for his informative presentation. It was considered that much of the empirical evidence had contributed to the JSNA, but much of the commentary about the experiences of members of the BME community was not included but was an important resource to consider.
· Eleven deprived areas;
· Outline agreement for a project;
· Translation services.
Resolved: - That the information shared be noted.