Explaining levels of wellbeing in Black and Minority Ethnic populations in England

Self-reported wellbeing, i.e., feeling good and functioning well, varies between different ethnic groups in the UK. Even controlling for the social and economic factors known to influence wellbeing, there appears to be a residual, non-random difference – with people from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities reporting lower levels of wellbeing than their White counterparts. This report describes the findings of a review conducted to investigate the issue of ethnic disparities in wellbeing and possible drivers for this.

It was written in response to a suggestion by colleagues from Public Health England that there was a need to explore the factors underlying lower levels of wellbeing in Black and Minority Ethnic communities in England.