Workshop to address cultural diversity and ethnicity in healthcare

International academics are to gather at the University of Leicester to discuss 'Civil Society and the Governance of Health Care' in a one-day workshop event sponsored by the Cinefogo European Network of Excellence and organised by Professor Carlo Ruzza and Dr Ellen Annandale from the Department of Sociology on Friday 20 November.

The aim of the workshop is to test the capacity of public institutions to acknowledge and respond to cultural diversity and the health needs of men and women. The increased sensitivity to gender and ethnicity in healthcare as well as the significant changes in the governance of public sector services will be discussed.

This workshop follows the success of last month's one-day symposium which addressed 'Governance through Civil Society?' and will be separated into two parts. Section one will focus on gender and healthcare governance, seeking to address issues such as the importance of promoting women's health and women doctors' role in achieving gender equality in health.

The second section of the workshop will focus on civil society, health and migrant associations, aiding understanding how public health institutions, national and local politicians, practitioners, nurses and health workers are engaged in guaranteeing the access of immigrants to health services. This section will conclude with a reflection on the extent to which migrants are able to exercise their citizenship rights in the establishment of health policies.  

Event organiser, Professor Carlo Ruzza from the Department of Sociology, commented:

"We are very glad to be able to continue our set of seminars on the role of organised civil society in a variety of sectors. Workshops of the Cinefogo Network are part of the activities of the newly formed Research Unit on Civil Society which is based in the Sociology Department and brings together scholars interested in civil society within the University of Leicester and in neighbouring institutions.

"The speakers will discuss the contributions that organised civil society, and particularly patients' associations can make to the interaction between providers and users of the health care system. Civil society organisations help to represent the needs of vulnerable uses, addressing inequalities and various forms of discriminations. The workshop will address a range of needs and will focus on particularly problematic areas."

There will be contributions from researchers from the UK, Finland, Germany and Portugal during the one-day event, taking place on Friday 20 November in the Woodhouse Room, 4^th floor Charles Wilson Building.

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