Patient-Centered Health Care for Muslim Women in the USA

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 06 Mar 2005 - 22:00 PDT

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"Patient-centered Health Care for Muslim Women in the United States" is the topic of a conference March 4 and 5 at the University of Illinois at Chicago that brings together consumers, providers and national experts to discuss culturally appropriate health care for Muslim women.

Dr. Memoona Hasnain, director of research and assistant professor of public health in family medicine at UIC, is the principal conference organizer.

From her own experiences as a Muslim woman and a physician, as well as from published studies and an informal survey of female Muslim students and family medicine providers at UIC, Hasnain concluded that there is a need for ongoing discussion and additional research on the subject.

"The religious and cultural beliefs of Muslim women impact their health care needs, and they face major barriers while seeking health care that the rest of the population, particularly health care providers, often are unaware of," she said.

Modesty, for example, is a key concept in Muslim women's lives. Observant Muslim women prefer to avoid unnecessary close contact with men, and most choose to wear clothing that covers their bodies. They need female health care providers and have dietary restrictions, special needs during fasting, and personal hygiene needs related to daily prayers, Hasnain said.

Muslim practices and beliefs have implications for a variety of health care issues, she explained. Some are more obvious, such as those related to sexual norms and obstetrical and gynecological care, including maternal and child health issues. Less obvious ones include the stigma associated with mental health issues and HIV/AIDS.

"Providers' lack of attention to these needs may seriously compromise care," Hasnain said. "Due to the disconnect between Muslim women's religious and cultural beliefs and providers' understanding and accommodation of those beliefs, some Muslim women don't get the health care they need because it is not available in ways that are culturally appropriate. Belonging to a particular religion or culture should never be the reason for receiving less than ideal health care."

The conference is sponsored by the department of family medicine of the UIC College of Medicine and funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This collaborative project has support from several UIC colleges and centers including the National Center of Excellence in Women's Health, Center for Research on Women and Gender, School of Public Health, College of Nursing and the Great Cities Institute.

The conference will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday in the UIC Student Center West, 828 S. Wolcott Ave.

The keynote address, "Women in Islam: Facts and Perceptions," by Asma Barlas, professor and chair of politics at Ithaca College, will be from 9 to 9:40 a.m. Friday.

From 9:45 to 10:25 a.m., Dr. Rosaly Correa-de-Araujo, senior advisor on women's health at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, will present an interactive lecture on "Patient Centered Care: Relevance to Women's Health."

The remainder of Friday will be devoted to group work engaging participants in discussing priorities in health care for Muslim women and developing an agenda for research, action and best practice.

Saturday highlights include, from 9 to 9:40 a.m., "Patient-Physician Communication: the Case of the Muslim Woman Patient," by Dr. Elizabeth Burns, professor and chair, department of family medicine, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

From 9:45 to 10:25 a.m., Dr. Fauzia Lodhi, director, Palliative Care and Hospice Program, Rush University Medical Center and member of the board of directors of the Muslim Community Center in Chicago, will lead a discussion on "Culturally Appropriate Health Care for Muslim Women."

From 10:45 to 11:25 a.m., Dr. Nawal Nour, assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and director of the African Women's Health Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital, will lead a discussion on "Clinical Perspective: Female Genital Cutting."

From 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., a panel of Muslim women will discuss their health experience and an expert panel will respond to them. This moderated panel discussion also will allow questions from other participants.

The conference is open to the public. Additional information is available at (312) 413-9118 and at uic.edu/depts/ci/mwhconf.

UIC ranks among the nation's top 50 universities in federal research funding and is Chicago's largest university with 25,000 students, 12,000 faculty and staff, 15 colleges and the state's major public medical center. A hallmark of the campus is the Great Cities Commitment, through which UIC faculty, students and staff engage with community, corporate, foundation and government partners in hundreds of programs to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas around the world.

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