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Background: Public health researchers are increasingly encouraged to establish international collaborations and to undertake cross-national comparative studies. To-date relatively few such studies have addressed migration, ethnicity and health, but their number is growing. While it is clear that divergent approaches to such comparative research are emerging, public health researchers have not so far given considered attention to the opportunities and challenges presented by such work. This paper contributes to this debate by drawing on the experience of a recent study focused on maternal health in Canada, Germany and the UK., Discussion: The paper highlights various ways in which cross-national comparative research can potentially enhance the rigour and utility of research into migration, ethnicity and health, including by: forcing researchers to engage in both ideological and methodological critical reflexivity; raising awareness of the socially and historically embedded nature of concepts, methods and generated 'knowledge'; increasing appreciation of the need to situate analyses of health within the wider socio-political setting; helping researchers (and research users) to see familiar issues from new perspectives and find innovative solutions; encouraging researchers to move beyond fixed 'groups' and 'categories' to look at processes of identification, inclusion and exclusion; promoting a multi-level analysis of local, national and global influences on migrant/minority health; and enabling conceptual and methodological development through the exchange of ideas and experience between diverse research teams. At the same time, the paper alerts researchers to potential downsides, including: significant challenges to developing conceptual frameworks that are meaningful across contexts; a tendency to reify concepts and essentialise migrant/minority 'groups' in an effort to harmonize across countries; a danger that analyses are superficial, being restricted to independent country descriptions rather than generating integrated insights; difficulties of balancing the need for meaningful findings at country level and more holistic products; and increased logistical complexity and costs., Summary: In view of these pros and cons, the paper encourages researchers to reflect more on the rationale for, feasibility and likely contribution of proposed cross-national comparative research that engages with migration, ethnicity and health and suggests some principles that could support such reflection.

Long-term health conditions affect a substantial proportion of working-age adults, often reducing their employment chances and their incomes. As a result, welfare benefits including those intended to off-set additional expenditure (primarily Disability Living Allowance [DLA]) can make an essential contribution towards maintaining living standards. Given the differences in rates of long-term health conditions for different ethnic groups, issues of access to relevant benefits may be particularly salient for certain communities. We lack, however, detailed examination of the factors that influence take-up of DLA across ethnic groups. In this paper, secondary analysis of Labour Force Survey data is combined with detailed new qualitative work, to examine patterns of receipt and issues of access to DLA across four ethnic groups. DLA receipt among individuals reporting long-term health conditions is low; but Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Black African individuals have significantly lower levels of receipt than White British respondents with comparable health and socioeconomic characteristics. Common factors that appeared to discourage DLA claims across the ethnic groups considered included: a desire to conceal impairment and a reluctance to assume a 'disabled' identity; limited benefit knowledge or specialist support; perceptions that the benefits system is complex and stressful; and concerns about the legitimacy of claiming. But our findings also suggest differences between the groups. For example, 'being' Ghanaian appeared to place particular constraints upon the assumption of a disabled identity. Ethnic identity also implied processes of inclusion and exclusion in social networks resulting in differential access to information and 'know-how' in relation to the benefits system. Policy clearly has a role in legitimising claiming and improving accurate information flows and thereby improving take-up of benefit among those in great need.