[1, 11-13] The higher prevalence of chronic diseases among ethnic minority populations may lead to co-morbidities and multiple drug therapies and consequently medicine-related EPZ-6438 molecular weight problems (MRPs).[14, 15] Patients from different cultural backgrounds may be expected to have their own perceptions and beliefs which will affect their use

of medicines. In addition, ethnic minority groups are associated with communication and language barriers, and different experiences, needs and expectations than the wider UK population which may also influence their ability to manage their medicines effectively.[16-18] Moreover, it is acknowledged in most healthcare systems that ethnic minority groups have experienced inequalities in health and in accessing healthcare services.[7, 17, 18] There has been extensive research on health problems of ethnic minority groups, especially access to care which can result in differences in health outcomes, but there has been little research which specifically examines medicines use.[19] Also, evidence suggests

that medicines-related needs may be poorly met for these groups.[14, 15, 20-23] Because the definitions of MRPs are wide and include problems ranging from prescribing errors through to obtaining supplies, monitoring for appropriateness and patient behaviours which influence their use, a broad definition of MRPs by Gordon et al.[16] was used in this review to include all these aspects. Gordon et al. defined a MRP as ‘any problem experienced by a patient that may Fulvestrant concentration impact on their ability to manage or take their medicines effectively’.[16] The aim of this review was to establish type(s) and possible contributing factor(s) of MRPs experienced by ethnic minority populations in the UK and to identify interventions or recommendations to support these groups in their use of medicines. Electronic databases of PubMed, Embase, International Pharmaceutical Abstract and Scopus were searched for the period from 1990 to 2011. Reference lists of retrieved articles

and relevant review articles were manually examined for further relevant studies. A hand search of key journals: the International Journal of Pharmacy Practice, Pharmacy World and Science and the Annals of Pharmacotherapy was also performed. Identifying studies of MRPs experienced by ethnic minorities in the UK presented challenges. The review commenced much with three main keywords: ‘medicine-related problem’, ‘ethnicity’ and ‘United Kingdom’. Lists of search terms associated with each keyword were generated from MeSH (medical subject heading) terms in PubMed and term-mapping database in Embase. The MeSH terms and map terms provide a consistent way to retrieve information that may use different terminology for the same concepts. Relevant terms were also handpicked from the literature during the course of the review.[24, 25] Keywords not listed as MeSH or map terms were searched as phrases using the free text search mode.