Race as a variable in cross-cultural research

Documentation of health disparities in the United States has spurred increased interest in cross-cultural research and comparison of outcomes between minority and majority groups. The variables of race and ethnicity are used to distinguish among groups of interest in these studies. The purpose of this article is to review the meanings of race and ethnicity as these terms are used in nursing and other health-related research, and to highlight some advantages and disadvantages with their use in the literature. An illustration is provided using findings from a recent study exploring determinants of health for Hispanic farm workers. Race as a variable was included in this study to examine the possibility of discrimination as a health determinant. Racial categories were not meaningful to many respondents in this sample, however, and race-related data were not reliable. Suggestions are made for improving the quality of data related to race and ethnicity variables as they are associated with health outcomes.