Researchers should avoid using terms such as “race,” “ancestry,” and “race” interchangeably

Health care researchers should avoid using ” McMaster University professor Sonia Anand in PLOS Global Public Health.

Anand said that race is a social rather than biological construct and that there are multiple racial groups within racial groups. Furthermore, A person’s racial identity and ancestry can be different.

Discovery researchers by Anand, first author Clara Lu, and colleagues Rabeeyah Ahmed and Amel Lamri published Sept. 15. Race, ethnicity, and ancestry are equivalent terms, and according to research, racial groups are interpreted to reflect biological differences,” said Anand, a professor in the Department of Medicine. She is also McMaster’s acting vice president of equity and inclusion, and vice president of equity and diversity in her department.

“Furthermore, people’s perceptions of their own race can change over time.”

Anand said it best The researchers’ strategy is for study participants to self-identify their race, ethnicity, or ancestry .

She said that self-reporting reduces the risk of misclassifying people if researchers Traits categorize participants without consulting them, which can skew data on health outcomes.

For example, if someone from another race is classified as white, they may be erroneously seen as suffering from Lower risk of health conditions that may affect some racial groups more than others.

“Researchers should be more careful about the term lyse they use,” Anand said.

“Race and ethnicity are termed differently, and study participants should be asked to self-report as much as possible.”

Correct use of the word “ancestry” is especially important for genetic researchers because study participants may Identify with a racial or ethnic group but have different genetic ancestry.

She gave some examples of South Asian Canadians who may think they are from India or Pakistan, but may also have Genetic ancestry from the Middle East or Central Asia.

“Genetics and genomics researchers should carefully consider understanding ancestral race, as well as self-reported race ,” Anand said.

This paper follows a similar review by Anand on the use of racial and ethnic terms in health research published 23 years later. The 2022 update is necessary, she said, as the world considers discrimination and prejudice in health care and society at large, as well as the explosion of population-based genetics research.