Defining the Black Population in Canadian Health Research: A Critical Need
Marie Claire Uwamahoro
The presence of Black people (“Blacks”) in Canada can be attributed to historical factors such as slavery, colonization, and migration. Some have been here for centuries, while others have been here for merely days to months and are from different countries and corners of the World with different tribes, native languages, and cultures. Their social organization is complex, as they establish communities, collectives, or associations based on factors such as country of origin or smaller ethnic and tribal affiliations.
This makes it difficult, from a researcher’s perspective, to categorize and organize such a vast array of identities, which often results in the practice of grouping individuals with diverse ethnocultural backgrounds and histories under broad umbrella terms such as ‘Black’ or using a confusing array of terminologies and labels.
Our recent publication in BMJ Open, ‘Defining the Black Population in Canadian Health Research: A Scoping Review Protocol,’ underscores the urgent need to define who is Black in Health research in Canada. This scoping review is a crucial step in understanding how the Black population is defined across Canadian health research studies, a task that is vital for accurately reflecting the diversity within this group.
The protocol starts with a background on race in Canada. It briefly shows the existing national standards for collecting race-based and Indigenous identity data in healthcare and their limitations. Then, it displays a meticulous, comprehensive set of search terms, databases, and all the stages that the scoping reviews will follow. The community’s voice is represented, as the leaders and members of the Black community participated in this exciting review.
Inconsistent terminologies have been used in health research to identify the Black population. By identifying those inconsistencies and gaps in definitions, the review aims to enhance the precision and relevance of future health research, ultimately contributing to more effective public health interventions tailored to Black Canadians.
This work is particularly significant given the historical underrepresentation and misrepresentation of Black individuals in health research, which has led to gaps in knowledge and healthcare inequities. The protocol emphasizes the need for inclusive and precise demographic categorization to inform evidence-based healthcare policies and practices that genuinely address the needs of Black communities.
You can read more about this article by accessing the full paper here: Defining the Black population in Canadian health research.