Equity in Healthcare for Ethnic Minorities

Abstract

This chapter traverses published research about healthcare for ethnic minorities across the Asia Pacific countries from differing perspectives to identify contemporary practice, policy, and challenges in ensuring all for health and health for all in ethnic communities. Healthcare has now become a globalised concept and there has been concern in the Asia Pacific about equity of access to health services across the region with a focus on disparity between rich and poor, urban, and rural and of marginalised groups that include migrants, refugees, and other ethnic minorities, in situ within nation states. The diversity of approaches across Asia Pacific nations to the status and delivery of healthcare for ethnic communities is described using contemporary published research. Concepts around ethnic communities are diverse and complex but generally are said to be influenced by culture, behaviours, values, and the context in which they are described as being an ethnic minority. The impact on these groups based on disease category is also traversed. Lessons learned and implications for the future and the importance of leadership, technology, and empirical research are discussed. Consistent with the book title this chapter describes the experience of nation states across the Asia Pacific to analyse, compare, and contrast approaches in addressing ‘Gaps and actions in health improvement from Hong Kong and beyond’ utilising a ‘health for all’ perspective.