A retrospective analysis of the ethnicity of individuals referred to a tertiary neuropsychology service in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Objective: Ethnic minorities comprise approximately 18% of the UK population and are at high risk of developing neurological conditions. Despite this, there is little information regarding their access to neuropsychology services. This study evaluated whether ethnic minorities were proportionally represented in a tertiary neuropsychology department in the UK in accordance with census data for the region. We also aimed to highlight which ethnic groups were over- and underrepresented. Method: Anonymised demographic data of 3429 outpatient and 3304 inpatient referrals to an adult UK neuropsychology department was collected. These data were compared to the 2021 UK census data for the region. Results: Ethnicities in both the outpatient referrals (χ²(15) = 24066.55, p < .001) and inpatient referrals (χ²(15) = 35940924.75, p < .001) are significantly different from the Census. All ethnic minorities were underrepresented in adult neuropsychology referral data for both outpatient settings (−0.06% to −4.66%) and inpatient settings (−0.01% to −4.99%). Pakistani individuals were the most underrepresented across all settings, followed by individuals from an African background. Conversely, individuals of White British ethnicity were overrepresented in both outpatient settings (+10.73%) and inpatient settings (+15.68%). Conclusions: The UK ethnic minorities were not referred to a neuropsychology service relative to regional population prevalence. This contradicts their increased susceptibility for risk of neurological conditions but may also indicate the inaccessibility of neuroscience services for ethnic minorities. Replicating this study across different regions and gathering data on prevalence rates for different neurological conditions across ethnicity is recommended. Additionally, improving accessibility of neuropsychology services for British ethnic minorities should be prioritised.

Keywords:

• Ethnic minority
• diversity
• inclusion
• accessibility
• acquired brain injury
• traumatic brain injury
• brain tumour
• stroke
• dementia
• psychology

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Department of Clinical Neuropsychology at Salford Royal, and the University of Manchester for their support in engaging in this research project. Special thanks go to Georgia Dunning for her efforts in gathering and evaluating the data, and in presenting it to wider audiences at a number of conferences, and to Jessica Twigg, for her valued input with data analysis.

Disclosure statement of interests statement

The authors have no competing or conflicting interests to declare in relation to this study.

Data availability statement

Due to the nature of this research, participants of this study did not agree for their data to be shared publicly, so supporting data are not available.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.