Identifying Muslim Patients’ Religious and Spiritual Needs in the Inpatient Care Setting: A National Survey
Ummesalmah Abdulbaseer, Medical Student, University of Illinois College of Medicine; Shareif Abdelwahab, Medical Student, Rutgers University Robert Wood Johnson Medical School; Samsiah Abdul-Majid, Chaplain, Association of Muslim Chaplains; Iman Farajallah, PsyD, Professor, Graduate Theological Union; Mohamed Hamouda, MD, University of Chicago Medical Center and Initiative on Islam and Medicine; Aasim I. Padela, MD, Professor, Emergency Medicine, Bioethics and the Medical Humanities, Medical College of Wisconsin; and Natasha Piracha, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
Background: Healthcare provided without addressing patients’ cultural, religious, and spiritual needs is of poorer quality and leads to health inequities. Research demonstrates that Muslims often suffer from health and healthcare disparities due to gaps in understanding their religious values and needs. We aimed to ascertain the relative importance and presence of religious resources for Muslim Americans in the hospital setting.
Materials and Methods: A national survey was distributed in person (before the pandemic) at mosques, community centers, and health clinics and then online through social media campaigns. It was completed by 1,329 Muslim Americans above the age of 18. In addition to relevant sociodemographic data, the survey assessed previously validated measures of religiosity and coping along with original items inquiring about participant experiences in hospital settings and the presence of and need for specific religious and spiritual resources. Bivariate analyses were conducted to test associations between each of the t variables of interest using chi-squared tests, as well as logistic and linear regression. Variables found to be significant at the level of p <.10 were advanced into multivariate logistic, linear, or ordered logistic regression models as appropriate.
Results: Of the 1329 respondents, 68% (n=896) were women. Immigrants made up a large portion of participants, either immigrating during childhood or as adults (n=691, 56%). Respondents were diverse, with the two largest groups identifying as South Asian (n=503, 38.2%) or Arab/Arab American (n=484, 36.8%). Almost all participants, 93.6% (n=1233), felt it was important to have their religious needs met in the hospital. The religious resources identified by participants as the most important in terms of availability were a neutral prayer space (n=1207, 91.7%), halal food (n=1217, 92.4%), and medicine without pork or alcohol (n=1209, 91.8%). However, these resources were primarily unavailable to participants in their recent hospital stays, as only a minority found them to be present: prayer space (n=175, 26.2%), halal food (n=115, 17.2%), medicine without pork/alcohol (n=62, 9.3%). Persons who felt comfortable identifying as Muslim (OR 1.46, p<0.1) or those who were asked about their religious affiliation by staff (OR 2.28, p<0.01) had higher odds of believing that their religious and spiritual needs were met during their hospital stay. In addition, participants who regularly attended congregational religious services (OR 1.23, p<0.01) had greater odds of placing importance on the availability of Islamic resources during a hospital stay.
Discussion: The overwhelming majority of the Muslim Americans surveyed affirmed the importance of religious resources available in hospitals. However, when asked about their availability, such resources are not readily available. It appears that participants felt their needs were being met if an environment was created that allowed them to feel comfortable identifying as Muslim and if staff members asked about their religious identity. Our research highlights that interventions to better identify patients’ religious identities and provide them with necessary Islamic resources can help provide Muslim American patients with more patient-centered care.
Materials and Methods: A national survey was distributed in person (before the pandemic) at mosques, community centers, and health clinics and then online through social media campaigns. It was completed by 1,329 Muslim Americans above the age of 18. In addition to relevant sociodemographic data, the survey assessed previously validated measures of religiosity and coping along with original items inquiring about participant experiences in hospital settings and the presence of and need for specific religious and spiritual resources. Bivariate analyses were conducted to test associations between each of the t variables of interest using chi-squared tests, as well as logistic and linear regression. Variables found to be significant at the level of p <.10 were advanced into multivariate logistic, linear, or ordered logistic regression models as appropriate.
Results: Of the 1329 respondents, 68% (n=896) were women. Immigrants made up a large portion of participants, either immigrating during childhood or as adults (n=691, 56%). Respondents were diverse, with the two largest groups identifying as South Asian (n=503, 38.2%) or Arab/Arab American (n=484, 36.8%). Almost all participants, 93.6% (n=1233), felt it was important to have their religious needs met in the hospital. The religious resources identified by participants as the most important in terms of availability were a neutral prayer space (n=1207, 91.7%), halal food (n=1217, 92.4%), and medicine without pork or alcohol (n=1209, 91.8%). However, these resources were primarily unavailable to participants in their recent hospital stays, as only a minority found them to be present: prayer space (n=175, 26.2%), halal food (n=115, 17.2%), medicine without pork/alcohol (n=62, 9.3%). Persons who felt comfortable identifying as Muslim (OR 1.46, p<0.1) or those who were asked about their religious affiliation by staff (OR 2.28, p<0.01) had higher odds of believing that their religious and spiritual needs were met during their hospital stay. In addition, participants who regularly attended congregational religious services (OR 1.23, p<0.01) had greater odds of placing importance on the availability of Islamic resources during a hospital stay.
Discussion: The overwhelming majority of the Muslim Americans surveyed affirmed the importance of religious resources available in hospitals. However, when asked about their availability, such resources are not readily available. It appears that participants felt their needs were being met if an environment was created that allowed them to feel comfortable identifying as Muslim and if staff members asked about their religious identity. Our research highlights that interventions to better identify patients’ religious identities and provide them with necessary Islamic resources can help provide Muslim American patients with more patient-centered care.