| dc.description.abstract | This exploratory study examines the influences of cultural and religious practices
of Muslim women within health care settings. Twelve Muslim women, ranging between
the ages of 19 to 57, were interviewed. They all participated in a 30 to 60 minute, semistructured
interview, and discussed their personal interactions with health care providers
and shared their experiences receiving health care. The research question highlights the
role of cultural and religious traditions and practices for Muslim women and how that
affects the patient-provider relationship. Knowledge of the difficulties these women face
is often unrecognized by providers. These include communication and language barriers,
modesty issues, provider gender, translator services and poor provider services. Other
significant themes in the study also include characteristics of a ‘good’ provider, main
challenges for Muslim women, positive versus negative health care experiences, and key
suggestions from participants to improve health services for Muslim patients. Data was
analyzed using Denzin’s qualitative framework interpretive interactionism. Analysis
suggests that Muslim women patients encounter a wide range of difficulties when
obtaining heath care services. The women shared some personal stories, where providers
lacked the ability to care for them in accordance to their cultural and religious
obligations. This reinforces the need for better cultural and religious accommodations for
this “unique” population. Cultural competent strategies and protocols must be developed
to improve health experiences. However, health care providers must first recognize the
gap in the Muslim woman patient-provider relationship in order to change health care
processes and experiences for this community. | en |
