Observing the observatory on race and health: reviewing 'health communications with (and for) Jewish communities'.

Abstract

National Health Service England established the Race and Health Observatory as an independent expert body in 2021 to advance meaningful changes for Black and minority ethnic communities, patients, and healthcare professionals. It serves as a 'proactive investigator' by commissioning and facilitating research to achieve long-term transformation in health outcomes. However, medical anthropologists have largely overlooked the Observatory (and the research it commissions) in critical assessments of race and health. This commentary discusses the 2024 review into "health communications with (and for) Jewish communities" vis-à-vis the ethnographic record. On the one hand, the intention behind the Observatory's review is laudable because Jews have been excluded from critical discussions on race and health in the UK as well as the US and Europe. While the review has potential for rendering health inequality in Jewish communities visible, some of the overly general findings may lead to pitfalls and healthcare professionals may need additional guidance or support by establishing diverse steering groups. This comment argues that observing the Observatory on Race and Health is important to ensure accountability over its research and recommendations, and from a conceptual standpoint, to examine the evolving apparatus that shapes public and political reckonings with race, ethnicity and in/equality.