Improvising Race: Clinical Trials and Racial Classification

Area of Science:

• Sociology of Health and Illness
• Medical Anthropology
• Science and Technology Studies

Background:

• Prenatal trials in the United Kingdom utilize ethnicity codes.
• These codes are integral to data collection and participant categorization.
• Understanding the practical application of these codes is crucial for equitable healthcare.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the generative nature of ethnicity codes in a UK prenatal trial.
• To examine how ethnicity codes cohere across different actors and tools (staff, surveys, participants).
• To analyze the origins and adaptations of ethnicity codes across historical and ethnographic contexts.

Main Methods:

• Ethnographic and historical case studies.
• Analysis of micro-level interactions and macro-level structures.
• Focus on the concept of "improvisation of race" within clinical practice.

Main Results:

• Ethnicity codes function as generative objects, actively creating racial categories through interaction.
• The "improvisation of race" highlights negotiations and temporal dynamics in racialization.
• Historical and ethnographic cases reveal the adaptability and evolution of these codes.

Conclusions:

• Race is conceptualized as mercurial and actively constructed within clinical settings.
• "Improvisation" is a key mechanism enabling the routine use of racial categories in healthcare.
• The study offers insights into the performative and relational aspects of racialization in medical research.