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Cross-Cultural Guides for Treating Muslim Patients

Waves of immigration from the Middle East and Arabic-speaking Asian countries throughout the 20th century have created sizable Muslim populations in many parts of America. New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Cedar Rapids and Dearborn, Mich., are just a few examples of major cities that have large Muslim communities. Like other minority populations in the U.S., Muslims of Arabic descent have their own unique cultural and religious beliefs about health, illness, birth and death that can create barriers to effective treatment if they are not understood or respected by health care providers.

To help nurses and other health professionals provide culturally competent care to Muslim patients, the Transcultural Education Center (TEC) in McLean, Va., offers several publications, videos and other resources for care providers. TEC, an independent consulting firm, is the brainchild of Egyptian-born nurse Gihan ElGindy, RN, MSN, a nationally and internationally recognized cross-cultural educator and consultant.

Brochures and booklets created by ElGindy include A Muslim Patient in an American Hospital: A Care Provider Guide. The booklet focuses on understanding the Muslim patient’s perspective regarding such issues as health, illness, Islamic remedies, dietary restrictions, circumcision, autopsy, perception of the care provider’s role and more. Another care provider guide, Death and Dying Across Cultures, is a 24-page pocket-sized reference addressing beliefs about death and dying in six different religious cultures--including Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jehovah’s Witnesses--and how nurses can respond with cultural sensitivity to the needs of these patients and their families.

TEC also offers the brochure Seeing Through the Veil (a guide for employers and employees about understanding the Islamic dress code and other Muslim cultural issues in the workplace) and a 15-minute video, Health Issues in Islam. New publications currently in development include Birth Across Cultures and The Islamic Medical Professional’s Pocket Guide.

For more information, or to order products, visit the Transcultural Education Center Web site at www.tecenter.org.