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The paper aims to show the impact of insider/outsider researcher positionality and the lessons from researching the social construction of HIV stigma and sexual health-seeking behaviour within black sub-Sahara African communities (BSSA).

The paper is a reflection on the impact of researcher positionality based on lessons learnt following a research study on the social construction of HIV stigma and sexual health-seeking behaviour within BSSA communities.

Researcher positionality has a direct impact on the quality and nature of study outcomes. Depending on the nature and circumstances of a given research study, the researcher status in terms of position (insider or outsider) can be dynamic and instrumental in the level of participation by research participants. In this paper, the authors consider three important interdependent aspects central to conducting research including researcher identity, research participants and the research topic to assess the impact of researcher status on the quality and nature of the information provided by the research participants.

A researcher who is viewed as both an insider/outsider can either positively or negatively influenced the quality and nature of the information given by the research participants.

Since the early 19th century, the UK has seen a decrease in mortality rates and increase in life expectancy. This has increased the number of elderly people being put into residential care. Change in British population demography with the arrival of many Africans from the black Sub-Sahara African (BSSA) countries has increased the need of these services. The purpose of this paper is to explore perceptions and attitude of BSSA towards residential care from potential user perspective.

This study was explorative qualitative in nature, using focus group discussions and one-on-one follow up semi-structured interviews. The focus group discussions and interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. The Silences Framework was used to guide this study, and the collection of data was done using the thematic analysis approach.

This study found out that the sense of confinement, lack of ownership, non-provision of culturally friendly food, non-provision of culturally friendly personal care, non-provisional of culturally orientated death and dying care, stigma for being neglected and perceived poor inclusivity leading to loneliness were found to discourage BSSA research participants from taking up residential care in the UK.

In future, there is need for cross-cultural comparisons of BSSA communities living in the UK and BSSA communities living in Africa or other parts of the world. This may enhance understanding the differences and similarities based on contextual social, political and economic factors.

There is a need to understand the needs and concerns of new communities in relation to residential care and make necessary changes to enhance diversity and inclusivity. More importantly, the curriculum and professional development courses for staff in health and social care need to factor in the concepts of cultural competency and inclusivity to prepare them for the increasingly changing terrain of social care.

Owing to the changing demography and diversity in the UK population, there is a need to re-orient and re-design residential care services provision to make it diverse and inclusive of new communities from other cultures.

Sexual transmitted infections (STIs) are associated with high stigma leading to poor sexual health-seeking behaviour and mental health problems. Although human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention has generally been successful in many communities across the world, statistics for young people have remained relatively low, especially among most affected communities such as the black sub-Sahara African (BSSA) communities. This paper aims to explore the barriers to STIs and HIV testing among young BSSA communities living in the UK.

The research study used an explorative qualitative approach. The study included 6 focus groups comprising 10 people each (N = 60), and 12 one-to-one follow-up interviews were held with the research participants. Two one-to-one follow-up interviews were held from each focus group (N = 12).

The study found that perceived risk taking, perceived HIV test embarrassment, sexual health professionals’ attitudes, perceived HIV as death sentence, limited educational awareness and general HIV stigma prevented research participants from testing and impacted on their mental health well-being.

There is a need to increase sexual health and mental health education awareness among young BSSA communities. More importantly culturally sensitive interventions to reduce the impact of HIV stigma need to be rolled out in different diverse communities. This study is the first of its kind to look at the barriers affecting young BSSA communities in accessing sexual health testing services in the UK.

It is believed that more than 120 million women have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM) and more than 2 million young girls are at risk of undergoing FGM. FGM is practiced in different parts of the world. With globalisation and the increased movement of people across the globe, FGM is now a global problem. While ending FGM remains a priority, the approaches and strategies being used have generated contested views across the social divide. The purpose of this study is to explore the challenges in combatting FGM as experienced by Black Sub-Saharan African (BSSA) women in Diaspora.

This qualitative study used a phenomenological approach. Narratives were collected from 40 BSSA women from 20 Sub-Saharan African countries living in the English West Midlands region. A thematic approach underpinned by the four phases of data analysis in the Silences Framework were used to analyse the data.

The research study found that stigmatisation of survivors, utilisation of graphic images in FGM awareness, exclusion of practising communities’ gatekeepers in FGM interventions, conflation of religion and FGM practice and obsession with securing a conviction were obstacles in combating FGM. Diaspora community-driven studies exploring FGM and contested notions in addressing it from women perspectives are scarce.

This study pulls together the experiences of BSSA women and their perspectives on contested notions in combating FGM in the UK. The debate asserts the growing need to consider gender sensitive radical interventions, which involves educating perpetrators and gatekeepers among FGM practising communities.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of black Sub-Saharan African (BSSA) migrants from war-torn zones in accessing health services in the West Midlands region of the UK. This may help to inform on factors influencing the uptake of health services for new migrant communities.

This study explored the experiences of BSSA migrants from war-torn zones in accessing health services in the West Midlands using an explorative qualitative approach. Ten focus groups made up of seven participants each were followed up with three in-depth one-to-one interviews from each focus group using a conversational approach where research participants were encouraged to direct and shape the discussion in accordance with their own experiences, views and particular concerns (Kvale, 1996) as opposed to responding to a pre-determined agenda.

Following transcription, coding and analysis of the focus group discussions and follow-up interviews, this study found that perceptions and attitudes of BSSA communities in accessing health services included difficulties in navigating the health system, intrusive and embarrassing questions from clinicians, stigmatisation through offering an HIV test, culturally unfriendly counselling support, unconfidently services and episodes of trauma flashbacks.

The experiences of BSSA migrants who sought health services in the West Midlands in the UK demonstrated important implications for future practice and informed service delivery. There is a need to consider cultural education for both BSSA migrants and health professionals to enhance understanding and trust between the groups. Basic professional training for health professionals should also encompass the needs of the growing ethnic populations in the UK.

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of African community leaders, on factors that influence substance use and mental health status of Sub-Sahara African immigrants living in the northeast region of the USA.

A social constructionist approach to grounded theory was used to understand social life’s complexity in the African community. Data analysis consisted of initial coding and focused coding, which led to the emerging of the following mid-range theories.

The following mid-range theories are developed: the work culture of Sub-Sahara African immigrants may influence substance-use behaviors, impact treatment for mental health and contribute to interpersonal conflicts related to marriage and parenting; there may be a relationship between the culture of privacy and spirituality because the church is often a place of comfort, and many may not seek treatment for mental health for fear of losing that community; Sub-Sahara African immigrants’ mental health and substance-use behaviors are influenced by unique factors that stem from balancing living in the new culture while also preserving their unique cultural norms.

The analysis of perceptions of African community leaders underscored “On the go” as a metaphor for describing Sub-Sahara African immigrants.

Barack Obama's emergence as the leader of the world's most powerful nation stirred much enthusiasm in Africa. This article examines Obama's relationship to Africa and African reactions to Obama – spanning from the time of his election to the United States Senate to the current period of his role as president of the United States. Focusing specifically on Obama's Ghana speech and subsequent African policy initiatives, the article suggests that many Africans are disappointed with Obama's Africa policy and that this is the result of several misperceptions: misperceptions of Obama's power as US president, misperceptions of his moderate political world view, and misperceptions of his cosmopolitan identity as an individual of African ancestry.

The aim of this paper is to present a conceptual model on foreign-born health care workers from developing countries working in the US. The model covers their motivations for migration, the consequences in terms of the inequality and exclusion they may experience and the role of institutional responses at micro-, macro- and meso-level of intervention.

The paper is based on: (1) in-depth review of key literature studies on the foundation theories of international migration including sociology, economics, anthropology, psychology and human resource management, (2) analysis of theoretical approaches to medical migration across disciplines, (3) analysis of the international and national documentary sources of micro-, macro- and meso-level policies on migration and (4) analysis of evidence on best practices, solutions and aspirational changes across different levels of institutions.

(1) Migration of international medical graduates (IMGs) from developing countries to the US can be explained from a micro-, macro- and meso-level of analysis. (2) IMGs who identify as racial/ethnic minorities may experience unfair discrimination differently than their US-born counterparts. (3) Although political/legislative remedies have had some successes, proactive initiatives will be needed alongside enforcement strategies to achieve equity and inclusion. (4) While diversity management initiatives abound in organizations, those designed for the benefit of IMGs from developing countries are rare. (5) Professional identity groups and some nonprofits may challenge structural inequities, but these have not yet achieved economies of scale.

Although it is well-documented in the US health care literature how ethnic/racial minorities are unfairly disadvantaged in work and career, the studies are rarely disaggregated according to sub-groups (e.g. non-White IMGs and US-born MGs). The implication is that Black IMG immigrants have been overlooked by the predominant narratives of native-born, Black experiences. In placing the realities of native-born Blacks on the entire Black population in America, data have ignored and undermined the diverse histories, identities and experiences of this heterogeneous group.

An awareness of the challenges IMGs from developing countries face have implications for managerial decisions regarding recruitment and selection. Besides their medical qualifications, IMGs from developing countries offer employers additional qualities that are critical to success in health care delivery. Considering organizations traditionally favor White immigrants from Northern and Southern Europe, IMGs from developed countries migrate to the US under relatively easier circumstances. It is important to balance the scale in the decision-making process by including an evaluation of migration antecedents in comprehensive selection criteria.

The unfair discrimination faced by IMGs who identify as racial/ethnic minority are multilayered and will affect them in ways that are different compared to their US-born counterparts. In effect, researchers need to make this distinction in research on racial discrimination. Since IMGs are not all uniformly impacted by unfair discrimination, organization-wide audits should be in tune with issues that are of concerns to IMGs who identify as racial/ethnic minorities. Likewise, diversity management strategies should be more inclusive and should not ignore the intersectionality of race/ethnicity, nationality, country of qualification and gender.

Immigrant health care workers from developing countries are integral to the health care industry in the United States. They make up a significant proportion of all workers in the health care industry in the US. Although the literature is replete with studies on immigrant health care workers as a whole, research has rarely focused on immigrant health care workers from developing countries. The paper makes a valuable contribution in drawing attention to this underappreciated group, given their critical role in the ongoing pandemic and the need for the US health industry to retain their services to remain viable in the future.

The current study seeks to explore ethnic diversity in Britain by investigating the strength of ethnic identity and acculturation levels of two British ethnic minority groups – Indians and African Blacks. The study also aims to examine the role of demographic characteristics in explaining the strength of ethnic identity and acculturation levels between the surveyed ethnic groups.

The study utilized a survey research design. Data was collected using a personally administered structured questionnaire from a convenience sample of 365 married ethnic members.

The results of t‐tests revealed that both Indians and African Blacks are strong ethnic identifiers and highly‐acculturated. Further results based on step‐wise regressions showed that age and income offer more explanatory power of ethnic diversity among African Blacks and Indians respectively.

The study highlights the complexity and importance of ethnicity in the development of multicultural strategies in Britain.

Research relating to ethnic diversity in Britain is relatively limited and of the very few studies available, there has been more emphasis on qualitative research approaches. This study also offers findings on ethnicity at a time when there is growth in the population of ethnic markets in Britain.