Sexual and reproductive health of South Asians in the UK: an overview.

©FSRH J Fam Plann Reprod Health Care 2008: 34(4) Introduction People from minority ethnic groups, forming approximately 8% (4.6 million people) of the population in the UK, are at a disproportionate risk of social exclusion and health inequality.1 The reproductive and sexual health of some of these groups has been identified as a particular area of concern because many are at a higher risk of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) than the general population.2,3 Service access has also been found to be poor among many.4 In order to inform and develop appropriate sexual health interventions and improve service access there is a need to improve our understanding of the sexual behaviours and attitudes of different minority ethnic groups and the reasons for poor health outcomes. Ethnic categorisation and the use of ethnicity as a variable and within health research is an ongoing area of debate. People are often allocated to racial or ethnic groups arbitrarily. Categories of ethnic group are sometimes undefined and the use of terms inconsistent.5 Broad ethnic/racial classification such as Asian, South Asian, black African, and so on mask the rich diversity of religions, cultures and languages that exist between and within particular ethnic groups. They also mask important socioeconomic differences that may underpin health inequality. Ethnic groups are generally characterised by a sense of belonging or group identity, sometimes derived from a sharing of place of birth of oneself or one’s parents. They are often perceived as sharing a common culture, a set of behaviours and beliefs, determined by upbringing and choice.5 However, ethnic groups are also determined by social pressures and psychological needs and are therefore fluid and dynamic.5 Given this, ethnicity or ethnic identity may indeed change over time for individuals and mean different things to different people. It is argued that this makes a universal taxonomy impossible.6 However, if researchers want to be able to compare research findings there is a need for some level of consistent classification.6 To achieve this, Bhopal and Senior emphasise the need for researchers to explicitly state how their ethnic classifications were made in order to facilitate comparison. They also suggest exercising caution in generalising results across and within ethnic groups, and to consider the relative importance of other socioeconomic, cultural and lifestyle variables in explaining variations in health.7 Sexual and reproductive health of South Asians in the UK: an overview