The Peril and Promise of Racial and Ethnic Subgroup Analysis in Health Disparities Research

ABSTRACT

Objective: The purpose of this paper is to introduce a rubric for both researchers and consumers of research to guide best practices in the conduct of exploratory and confirmatory subgroup analyses studies.

Methods: Paper draws on a review of the literature on subgroup analyses techniques and studies on racial and ethnic disparities in behavioral, mental, and physical health outcomes.

Results: The paper highlights theoretical, methodological, and interpretational challenges in the use of subgroup analyses and illustrates them with specific examples.

Conclusion: The paper concludes with a series of specific recommendations for the development of subgroup analyses specifically within three practice areas: theoretical, methodological, and interpretational. Such recommendations are captured in a rubric of best practices that aim to strengthen the evidence-base derived from subgroup studies to guide treatment and prevention interventions as well as the design and evaluation of effective policy recommendations to ameliorate health disparities.

KEYWORDS:

• Subgroup analysis
• race and ethnicity
• health disparities