Evidence on how COVID-19 is impacting on the population has helped to highlight striking inequalities in risk and outcomes across different population groups, yet studies that are not underpinned by a strong guiding theory or that use ethnicity data superficially might contribute to perpetuating ethnic inequalities. This long read from the Health Foundtion identifies five key questions to ask to help evaluate reports on ethnicity and COVID-19 risk and outcomes:
- Does the report take into account the social context in which ethnicity is defined?
- What explanations does the report give for differences between ethnic groups in risk and outcomes of COVID-19?
- Are the analytical methods used appropriate for testing these explanations?
- Does the report use appropriate data?
- Who was consulted and what level of involvement did they have in the report?