Testing the waters: COVID‐19 first wave and shielding among BAME patients with rheumatological conditions in the United Kingdom

Crying out for equity: outcomes of rheumatic diseases confounded by ethnicity

“…During the pandemic, huge inequalities have become apparent for COVID-19 outcomes, with worse outcomes for BAME patients in the UK. Rheumatology studies during the pandemic suggest that ethnic minority patients found the messaging around shielding and restrictions difficult to understand and there were important differences in their behaviours [ 26 ]. It is therefore likely that the pandemic has led to further divergence in outcomes.…”

Adherence with mycophenolate mofetil in patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases in coventry: Signs of progress but challenges remain

“…This group of patients ought to be considered high risk for non‐adherence and strategies need to be built around addressing these, in order to prevent longer term health impairment. COVID‐19 pandemic is likely to have exacerbated this problem with studies reporting differential behaviours in terms of stopping drugs (Dubey et al., 2021). There are a number of factors that contribute to lower adherence amongst ethnic minority populations including cultural beliefs, health literacy, social shame, stigma, family pressures, denial, worries about toxicities of ‘western medicines’ and trying other ‘less toxic alternative medications’, trust in healthcare professionals and engagement with healthcare systems.…”

Patient Empowerment: Apni Jung (Our Fight) against Rheumatoid Arthritis for South Asian Population

“… 14 COVID has shone a light on the inequity of access to healthcare generally faced by many ethnic communities and we need to grasp all opportunities to improve this imbalance. 4 , 6 , 15 , 16 …”