Work

The multiplicity and situationality of enacting ‘ethnicity’ in Dutch health research articles

Year: 2017

Type: article

Abstract: Previous research has problematised the diversity of conceptualisations and operationalisations of ethnicity within health research and the field of Ethnicity and Health. In this article, we explore how practices in health research and the field of Ethnicity and Health themselves contribute to the enactment of different versions of ethnicity. Using a qualitative content analysis of contemporary peer-reviewed Dutch biomedical and health research, we identified various dynamics in research practices and the research situation, which are relevant to understanding the enactment of multiple versions of ethnicity and specific ethnic and racial categories in health research in the Netherlands. Specifically, we discuss the production of academic publications and the manner in which researchers must establish the premises for ethnicity-specific health research; the organisation and ethnic and racial labelling of the data; and the discussion of new research findings in comparison with previous ethnicity-specific research. Ultimately, our analysis illustrates that, in health research and publications, ethnicity and its relation to health are not simply discovered or found; rather we discuss how the manner in which ethnicity and specific categories of ethnicity are enacted is contingent upon these everyday dynamics of research practices and the specific research situation in which research takes place.

Source: BioSocieties

DOI: 10.1057/s41292-017-0077-9

Authors: Alana Helberg-Proctor, Anja Krumeich, Agnes Meershoek, Klasien Horstman

Institutions: Maastricht University, Care and Public Health Research Institute

Language: English

Topic: Race, Genetics, and Society

Subfield: Anthropology

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,990