153 Healthcare Access Barriers Among Muslim Communities in the U.S.

Faculty Mentor: Akiko Kamimura (Sociology, University of Utah)

Introduction

The purpose of this research is to examine how cultural barriers and health literacy are associated with access to care and communication with providers in Muslim communities in the United States.Cultural barriers, poor health literacy, and lack of access to care continue to remain prominent in underserved communities across the U.S. (Elreichouni et. al, 2022). Such obstacles in receiving quality care may lead to poorer health outcomes and higher mortality and disability rates (Riley, 2012). Providing culturally competent care not only improves communication between patients and their healthcare providers but also allows practitioners to gatheraccurate medical information that call for personalized treatments. Cultural competence is vital in providing high-quality and culturally sensitive healthcare to Muslim patients and their families (Enabnit, 2023). Caring for Muslims in the healthcare setting requires knowledge of their cultural values that may differ from ethnicity to ethnicity across the globe, from the ideas of modesty all the way to alcohol intake restrictions. By identifying cultural differences that affect the care of Muslim patients, whether that be religious implications or privacy concerns, healthcare providers can shorten the gap between cultural barriers and access to care among this community.

Methods

Data was collected from Muslim adults using a self-administered survey at local mosques in the Salt Lake County. Flyers that had QR codes with the online version of the survey printed on them were also given to Mosque-goers. Inaddition to handing out paper surveys, the online version of the survey was distributed to online Muslim group chats such as the University of Utah’s Muslim Student Association and Utah Muslimahs on WhatsApp. Data was managed on Excel and analyzed on the statistical software, SPSS. Analysis of the survey results took place under the directsupervision of my research faculty mentor, Dr. Akiko Kamimura. The survey instrument included validated measureson cultural barriers, health literacy, access to care, and patient-provider communication such as rating experiences (ranging from reading/understanding medical forms to clinical encounters) as a Muslim patient in the U.S.

Results

Survey respondents demonstrated positive interactions with healthcare providers in the U.S. with average “agree”responses on the Likert scale. Respondents disagreed with receiving poor medical care that had U.S. healthcare providers treating them in an unfriendly or business-like manner. When it came to opinions on the current U.S. healthcare system, survey respondents, on average, agreed that health care providers should consider the religious or cultural behaviors of patients with 66% of respondents jotting down “strongly agree.” Survey respondents also agreed strongly with healthcare providers needing to learn more about Muslim women’s religious and/or cultural beliefs when it comes to providing care for them in a clinical setting including respecting Muslim women’s needs for modesty. In the same section of questions, very few disagreed with these statements.

Conclusion

Providing culturally competent care is one way of improving communication between patients and their health care providers as practitioners can gather accurate medical information that calls for personalized treatments. As cultural barriers contribute to lack of access to care among Muslims in the U.S., it is important to promote cultural competency among health care providers to ensure high- quality care for underserved populations.

With most survey respondents from this study strongly agreeing with healthcare providers needing to consider religiousand/or cultural behaviors of Muslim patients as well as Muslim women’s needs for modesty, the presence of cultural competency among healthcare providers should be emphasized in trainings and provider education.

References

Elreichouni, Ali et al. “Health services access, utilization, and barriers for Arabic-speaking refugees resettled in Connecticut, USA.” BMC health services research vol. 22,1 1337. 11 Nov. 2022, doi:10.1186/s12913-022-08733-5

Enabnit, Alexander. “Cultural Competence in the Care of Muslim Patients and Their Families: Promoting Culturally Sensitive Healthcare.” DoveMed, 12 July 2023, www.dovemed.com/health- topics/focused-health-topics/cultural-competence-care-muslim-patients-and-their-families-promoting- culturally-sensitive-healthcare/.

Riley, Wayne J. “Health disparities: gaps in access, quality and affordability of medical care.” Transactions of theAmerican Clinical and Climatological Association vol. 123 (2012): 167-72; discussion 172-4.