COVID-19, migration and ethnicity
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A population-based linked cohort study of vaccination, infection, hospitalisation and mortality amongst international migrants and minority ethnic groups in England during the COVID-19 pandemic
IRAS ID
309825
Contact name
Robert Aldridge
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Z6364106/2021/12/25, UCL Data Protection Reference Number
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, 1 days
Research summary
Migrants make up 14% of the UK’s population and are susceptible to unfair and unavoidable health differences compared to non-migrants. Studies in Sweden, Norway, Canada and Italy have shown that these differences in health have become more prominent during COVID-19. Additionally, a large study that used electronic health records of individuals registered with GPs in England found that some ethnic groups have a higher risk of being infected by COVID-19 and experiencing serious COVID-19-related effects. However, there is a lack of research on the effects of the pandemic on migrants in England, which is needed to develop government policies that promote a fairer and more just health system for all.
In this study funded by the Wellcome Trust, we aim to fill this gap by investigating differences in COVID-19 testing, vaccination, hospitalisation and death in migrant and non-migrant Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups. We will also explore the factors that explain any differences. To do this, we will use the OpenSAFELY platform, which was created to address urgent COVID-19-related topics and contains the electronic health records of approximately 24 million people registered with a GP in England. To protect participants’ privacy, we will not have direct access to individual patient’s health records. Instead, all of our analysis will be done at an ‘arm’s length’ using tools created by the OpenSAFELY team.
We will determine if a participant is a migrant using a procedure that was previously developed by our research group. We will then retrospectively follow participants via their electronic health records over time. This will allow us to compare migrants’ and non-migrants’ rates of COVID-19 infection, vaccination, hospitalisation and death in England in waves 1, 2 and 3 of the pandemic.
REC name
North East - York Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/NE/0055
Date of REC Opinion
21 Mar 2022
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion