Teesside researcher helps map health gaps facing minority ethnic women

A Teesside University public health researcher has co-led a new report drawing together evidence on the health and wider inequalities experienced by minority ethnic women across northern England.

Dr Nasima Akhter, Associate Professor of Public Health in the University’s School of Health and Life Sciences, led the work with Dr Oluwaseun Esan of the University of Liverpool. More than 50 people contributed to Woman of the North: Closing the health gap for minority ethnic women, most of them minority ethnic women themselves.

A northern picture, not a Tees Valley count

The report was published by Health Equity North on 7 October and Teesside University set out Dr Akhter’s role on 19 October. Its evidence covers the North of England, with some findings broken down to larger regions such as the North East and Yorkshire. It does not provide a separate set of figures for Middlesbrough or the wider Tees Valley, so the numbers should be read as northern context rather than a local prevalence study.

Across the North, 77.4% of minority ethnic women reported good health. The equivalent figure was 88.5% in the South and 82.9% in London. The report also found that 18.1% of minority ethnic women in the North had a long-lasting condition that limited daily life, compared with 14.2% in the South and 15.8% in London.

Health gaps across a lifetime

Some of the sharpest differences appear in maternity and neonatal care. In the combined North East and Yorkshire region, neonatal mortality among babies born to Black women was 32.6 per 1,000 babies admitted to neonatal units. The rate for babies born to White women was 17.0 per 1,000. These are regional figures, not rates for an individual hospital or town.

The report also brings together evidence beyond clinical care. Older minority ethnic people were 3.81 times more likely to experience loneliness than White British people, while 45% of minority ethnic women reported online abuse. The authors say gaps in detailed ethnicity data still make it difficult to see how gender, ethnicity and place combine in different communities.

That limitation matters locally. Public services can only target support well if they know where need is greatest and whether an intervention is working. Dr Akhter said better evidence, transparent monitoring and clear accountability were needed to make those decisions and track change.

Community organisations are part of the answer

The report recognises the work already done by voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise organisations. These groups often provide trusted, culturally responsive support and help people navigate practical barriers including transport, communication and unfamiliar services.

Its authors argue that those organisations cannot carry the responsibility alone. They call for sustained funding, stronger partnerships with public services, and direct involvement of minority ethnic women in the design, delivery and evaluation of policies and services. The recommendations are aimed at government, regional leaders, the NHS and community partners.

What happens next

Health Equity North wants public bodies to collect and use more detailed ethnicity data, share responsibility for progress and invest in approaches that communities already trust. The report is the first in a new series following the original Woman of the North study published in 2024.

For Teesside, the immediate significance is both practical and academic: a Middlesbrough-based researcher has helped set out a framework that northern health services and community organisations can test against their own evidence. The full report is available from Health Equity North, which is also inviting enquiries at info@healthequitynorth.co.uk.