How To Respect Muslim Culture And Beliefs In Healthcare?

How To Respect Muslim Culture And Beliefs In Healthcare
Make accommodations for Halal food. Coordinate with pharmacy departments to ensure there are alternatives to medicines that use gelatin (or other products made from pork) or alcohol in their formulations. Provide an interfaith room and privacy for daily prayer that is practiced five times per day.

What are cultural considerations when caring for a Muslim patient?

Introduction – Muslims constitute large proportions of populations across both Muslim-majority countries and otherwise. Muslims are considered to be the fastest-growing religious group in the world. Knowledge of the cultural and spiritual values of Muslims is critical in providing healthcare services to them.

Important differences include diet, ideas of modesty, privacy, touch restriction, and alcohol intake restriction.
Globally, Muslims represent substantial portions of society, and Islam remains the fastest-growing religion in the world.
It is highly likely that a healthcare professional will care for a Muslim patient during his or her career.

The Muslim faith encompasses several ethnicities with diverse views regarding illness and healthcare. As a result, the care of Muslim patients provides challenges for many non-Muslim healthcare providers. The Islamic faith can influence decision-making, family dynamics, health practices, risks, and the use of healthcare.

Understanding Islamic beliefs will assist healthcare professionals in delivering appropriate health care in a culturally sensitive manner.
This can be accomplished by understanding religious implications, perspectives on family, health, illness, diet, the influence of traditional medicine, and privacy concerns.

All health practitioners should be able to provide culturally competent care. When providing care to Muslim patients, it is important to understand the impact the Islamic faith has on the provision of healthcare. Healthcare professionals need to be aware of privacy and touch issues, dietary practices, and unacceptable medicines.

When healthcare professionals interact with Muslim patients, they should follow certain guidelines whenever possible. This includes minimizing eye and physical contact between a healthcare worker and a patient of the opposite gender when possible. Furthermore, male doctors may have to communicate through a spouse if the patient is female.

For example, if a male healthcare professional is talking to or asking questions of a female patient while her partner is in the room, but the patient does not respond, the healthcare professional should ask the patient if she would prefer he talk to the partner.

This may clear up any confusion and is usually not offensive. During a physical exam, it is desirable to have the healthcare professional be of the same sex. Obviously, there will be circumstances in which this will not be possible. In these scenarios, having a third person in the room that is the same gender as the patient should comfort the patient.

If a person of the opposite gender must perform the physical exam, the general rule of thumb is to inform the patient that an article of clothing must be removed for the examination, but it will be immediately returned. This minimizes exposure and tells the patient of the reasoning for removing any articles of clothing.

In men, beards are religiously symbolic, and most men will avoid shaving unless it is essential.
It is common knowledge that women dress modestly.
Men are often dressed to the knees or past the knees as well.
There is an impression that women dress modestly compared to men; however, many men follow many of the same rules of modesty.

During Ramadan, the Holy Month of Islam, healthcare professionals should be particularly culturally sensitive and respectful. Clinicians who understand Muslim religious practices will be better equipped to provide appropriate, individualized care for Muslim patients.

Obstacles to Medical Care The Muslim population is growing significantly worldwide.
Cultural and religious background influence an individual’s attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs toward health, illness, and the provision of healthcare may present obstacles to the healthcare this population receives.
Due to perceived restrictions in medical care, the Muslim population may be at an increased risk for several diseases.

These limitations may include gender preference of healthcare providers, modesty, and misconception about what causes certain illnesses. These limitations may develop as a result of Islamic cultural beliefs and practices. Other barriers may be due to the complexity of the health care system and the lack of culturally competent medical services and professionals.

What is the Islamic view of health?

Islam has honoured health as a fundamental right of every human being, which makes it a powerful source of guidance and information. Since its birth, Islam has prioritized health, placing it as second in importance to faith.

What does the Quran say about medical treatment?

Halal And Haram Medicines (Islamic Perspective) Introduction Islam prioritizes the well being and health of its people. Therefore in the aspect of health, Muslims are required to take care of their body entrusted by Allah s.w.t. to always be in good health.

Muslims are obliged to find medicine when they are infected with a disease. A healthy body will create a smart and intelligent mind, and also with a healthy body we will be at ease to worship and do our daily task. In fact, Muslims are required to have a strong and healthy body to fulfill our responsibility as Allah’s caliph on earth.

However, in our enthusiasm of taking care of our health and finding medicine to cure a disease, the question of halal and haram still need to be taken care of. Searching and opting for halal medicine is a must to all Muslims. Keeping away from haram is also our responsibility.

This coincided with the words of the Prophet “Searching for halal is obligatory to every Muslim” hadith narrated by al-Baihaqi.
Some of the halal and haram issues in medicine which has become a topic of interest until today.
This is especially on issues where medicines containing najis or haram products like alcohol, drugs, products from pigs, cows and likewise are of concern.

Malaysia users especially Muslims are concerned on these issues as it involves on the question of halal and haram which is fundamental in Islam. Definition and Halal Haram Concept in Islam The word Halal derived from Arabic which simply means allowable or not prohibited to be used in Islam.

According to Al-Quran, all foods which are good and clean are halal. Therefore, almost all food sources from plants and animals are halal except animals which are haram to be consumed. Haram means not permitted or prohibited to be used in Islam. Some of the foods that are prohibited in Islam include cadavers, blood, pigs, things that are intoxicating and others.

Apart from that, products that have been contaminated with haram sources are also prohibited. Medicines are used to ease, treat, cure or prevent illness and also to improve health. Medicines can be found in many forms and consumed in various ways. If medicines are taken as intended, by the will of Allah it can cure or control the illness.

Does not contain substances from animals that are not halal or not slaughtered according to Islamic law. Does not contain substances which are considered najis by Islamic law. Safe to be used, non-toxic, would not cause damage or intoxication and not harmful to health. Not prepared, processed or manufactured using equipment contaminated with najis according to Islamic law. Does not contain human body parts or products which are not allowed by Islamic law.

General Islamic Principals toward Medicine and Disease Treatment Islam is a complete and perfect religion. Allah has set up basic rules in problems faced by humans related to faith, worship, life system, law, health and others. As a religion which is complete and perfect, Islam maintains and resolves problem of human needs.

This is divided into 5 main principles which are Religion, Life, Intellect, Lineage and Property. Muslims are required to maintain the five main principles of Islamic law using two methods, firstly by implementing or upholding it and secondly by ensuring it remains unchanged. Muslims uphold the faith by implementing the five pillars of Islam.

Life including the body’s health is Allah’s right which needed to be taken care of and protected from any threat of disease, unlawful killing and others. If we’re face with illness, Allah has ordered that we seek for treatment and plead for healing from Him.

We’re required to use our intellect to find knowledge and also avoid matters which can mislead and destroy our mind. In the aspect of lineage, Islam protects it by permitting marriage. Our offspring are protected by forbidding adultery and promiscuity which can damage the human lineage. Islam protects the fifth principle which is Property by ordering humans to strive in searching for wealth through halal means and keeps the society from oppression and brutality by forbidding fraud, exploitation, robbery and others.

Requirement to Treat Disease According to Islamic Law Islam is very concerned on the aspect of health care and treatment of diseases. Muslims are told to take care of their bodies so that it stays healthy. Every effort should be made to find treatment when faced with illnesses.

This coincides with the Prophet’s saying :: “Allah has sent down both the disease and the cure, and He has appointed a cure for every disease, so treat yourselves medically, but use nothing unlawful” narrated by Abi Darda r.a. In short, the rule in seeking treatment is divided into mandatory and must.

In general, the rule in seeking treatment is a must when one can bear the pain, has patience or the disease has not worsen. The need in seeking treatment turns to mandatory when Muslims are not able to bear the pain or the disease is life threatening.

Therefore Muslims gets to choose between finding treatment for a disease or be patient in tolerating pain, which may be a test from Allah. However, the rule in seeking treatment may become haram when patients believe that the power of healing comes from the medication taken. The power of healing comes from Allah.

The same thing applies if patients seek treatment by using things which are haram or forbidden by Islamic law. Use of Medicine during Emergency Islamic law has its regularity ( azimah ) and leniency ( rukhsakh ). Azimah is the original law that has been determined by Allah.

Some of the examples are the ban of liquor and pork and also the obligation on fasting during Ramadan. Rukhsakh is the leniency that can be applied on certain situations. For example, during emergency or crisis, Muslims must break their fast if they are sick or they can consume pork during famine, It is mandatory for Muslims to hold onto azimah except when there is an emergency that will allow leniency.

Emergency simply means a condition in which the person faces a situation involving the safety of their life or property. Wahbah al-Zuhaili, a professor of Islamic law at Damascus University has given an expansive and clear definition of emergency which is “Emergency is an occurrence to a person, a dangerous situation or severe distress, which may lead to injury or illness to life, body, dignity, sense or property and everything connected to it.

At the time, it is a must to conduct haram or abandon the mandatory or delay the time, in order to prevent harm from occurring by consideration within the scope of Islamic law”. Dr Yusuf al-Qardawi in his book of ” Halal and Haram in Islam ” emphasizes and reminds Muslims not to simplify the leniency given by Islamic law using emergency as an excuse.

In deciding the necessity of using medicine containing haram materials, the requirements to ensure that those conditions are really an emergency needs to be met. Some examples of requirements that have been set by ulama’ and used by National Fatwa Council Malaysia are:

An emergency really occurred and it is not something that is uncertain. In other words, it already happened or exists where there is damage or illness to five general principles (religion, life, intelligence, lineage and property) or the occurrence of damage has been confirmed. This must be made based on strong conviction which is led by experience or knowledge. Someone in an emergency situation is against the order or prohibition of Islamic law, or there is no requirement by the Islamic law to eliminate the harm except for things that is banned or prohibited. Efforts have to be made to ensure that the present halal materials could not prevent the harm from occurring to patients. The usage of haram materials is a necessity. During treatment, the usage of haram materials must be recommended, ensured and approved by doctors or Muslim health professionals who are fair, believed to practice its religion and beliefs and also have knowledge in that field.

What the User Should Know About Halal Pharmaceuticals Allah commands us to consume foods which are not just halal, but also good or termed Halalan Thoyyiban so that it would not jeopardize our body. Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH) through Pharmaceutical Services Division plays a role in ensuring medicines in Malaysia is registered with MOH.

Registered pharmaceutical products have been evaluated in terms of safety and quality.
This coincides with Thoyyiban concept.
Apart from that, Drug Control Authority (DCA) requires pharmaceutical companies to declare if their products contain materials of animal origin.
This is through displaying it on the label stating the product has animal source like cows (bovine), pigs (porcine) and others.

There are raw materials like magnesium stearate, glycerin or gelatin that may originate from animal source. The labelling can help users especially Muslims, Hindus, vegetarians and users with certain allergies to avoid from using these products. Apart from that, if there is no other choices of medicines containing animal source need to be used to treat patients, the hospital will seek consent from patients first before administering the medicine.

What are the 5 culture of Islam?

What are the Five Pillars of Islam? A lot of what most people think they know about Islam is found in the media, where tales of fundamentalism and violence are the norm. The five pillars – the declaration of faith ( shahada ), prayer ( salah ), alms-giving ( zakat ), fasting ( sawm ) and pilgrimage ( hajj ) – constitute the basic norms of Islamic practice.

They are accepted by Muslims globally irrespective of ethnic, regional or sectarian differences.
Upholding the pillars is considered obligatory for all sincere followers of the Prophet Muhammad, male and female, Sunni and Shi‘a, but that doesn’t mean that all those who identify as Muslims keep them consistently.

As in all religions, circumstances vary and some people are more committed than others. Such things as age, stage of life, work, family responsibilities, health and wealth all make a difference.

What are cultural practices and beliefs?

Introduction – Cultural beliefs are beliefs that are learned and shared across groups of people. Because the amount of information in a culture is too large for any one individual to master, individuals know different subsets of the cultural knowledge and thus can vary in their cultural competence.

Varying access to and participation in cultural knowledge also contribute to variation and specialization in cultural competence. Given a set of questions, all on the same topic, shared cultural beliefs or norms regarding the answers can be estimated by aggregating the responses for each question across a sample of culture members.

When agreement on the answers approaches either 100 or 0%, the conclusion is straightforward: when all individuals provide identical answers (100% agreement), there is complete consensus and sharing of beliefs regarding the culturally correct answers to the questions.

When each individual provides a different answer to each question (0% agreement), there is a lack of consensus and no shared beliefs. The problem is to estimate beliefs when some degree of heterogeneity is present in responses. The cultural consensus model provides a framework for determining if responses to a set of questions are homogeneous.

If the answers are sufficiently homogeneous (defined later), then the model estimates the shared beliefs and individual cultural competencies across the set of questions. When the answers to a series of questions are unknown, as is the case when estimating beliefs, the answers can be estimated with a variety of aggregation techniques.

One such method is to use the majority opinion of a panel of experts, such as a “consensus panel.” Although this method may have content validity, the estimated answers may be biased due to the interpersonal dynamics of interaction and status among the panel members (nonindependence).
Another method is to ask the questions of a sample of subjects and then use a simple aggregation or majority rule to combine independent responses across subjects to estimate the answers.

The combined, independent responses will be more accurate than will the responses of each individual included in the aggregation. Reliability theory from psychology (specifically, the reliability coefficient), may be applied to aggregations across subjects, rather than questions, to estimate the accuracy or validity of the aggregated responses.

Validity of an aggregation is a function of the number of units being combined and the level of agreement among the units.
In this case, the accuracy of the aggregated responses in estimating the “true” answers can be calculated from the number of subjects and the average Pearson correlation coefficient between all pairs of subjects.

The cultural consensus model is designed to estimate the answers to a series of questions, when the answers are unknown. The model has an advantage over simple aggregation: it provides estimates of individual competencies as well as estimates for the answers and the degree of confidence in each answer.

In general, individual competence for answering a series of questions is estimated by comparing the answers to the true or correct answers. When the answers to a series of questions are known (as in the typical “yes/no” or multiple-choice examination in school), this is straightforward. Each answer is compared to the answer key, with one point scored for each correct answer.

The consensus model, however, estimates individual competence from the agreement between pairs of subjects. Answers are estimated by “weighting” the responses of individuals by their competencies and then combining responses. The formal consensus model can accommodate multiple-choice data and uses Bayesian adjusted probabilities to provide a confidence level for each answer.

An informal version of the model can accommodate interval-scale or fully ranked response data and uses a linear combination of competencies and responses to estimate the answers. The consensus model was developed in the social sciences. It is known as the cultural consensus model in anthropology, but is also known as “grading without an answer key” in psychology, as a method to assess rater accuracy without a “gold standard” in medical decision making, and as the Condorcet, or jury, problem in political science.

The model has been used most widely in anthropology to study beliefs about the causes, symptoms, and treatments for illnesses. Examples include studies of autoimmune disease syndrome (AIDS), asthma, diabetes, the common cold, and causes of cancer and death.

What is the importance of Islamic culture?

Abstract – Islam and its followers had created a civilization that played very important role on the world stage for more than a thousand years. One of the most important specific qualities of the Islamic civilization is that it is a well-balanced civilization that brought together science and faith, struck a balance between spirit and matter and did not separate this world from the Hereafter.

This is what distinguishes the Islamic civilization from other civilizations which attach primary importance to the material aspect of life, physical needs and human instincts, and attach greater attention to this world by striving to instantly satisfy desires of the flesh, without finding a proper place for God and the Hereafter in their philosophies and education systems.

The Islamic civilization drew humankind closer to God, connected the earth and heavens, subordinated this world to the Hereafter, connected spirit and matter, struck a balance between mind and heart, and created a link between science and faith by elevating the importance of moral development to the level of importance of material progress.

It is owing to this that the Islamic civilization gave an immense contribution to the development of global civilization. Another specific characteristic of the Islamic civilization is that it spread the spirit of justice, impartiality and tolerance among people. The result was that people of different beliefs and views lived together in safety, peace and mutual respect, and that mosques stood next to churches, monasteries and synagogues in the lands that were governed by Muslims.

This stems primarily from the commandments of the noble Islam according to which nobody must be forced to convert from their religion and beliefs since freedom of religion is guaranteed within the Islamic order. The Islamic civilization in Spain encompasses many fields that left a profound imprint in the Iberian Peninsula and Europe.

The cultural climate of Spain in the era of Muslim rule (711-1492) brought about a prospering of different aspects of science and culture.
Numerous schools and libraries were established and books were procured due to which the majority of the people were literate.
Literature and art flourished.
Buildings were constructed and Islamic art with its specific qualities was cultivated.

As a result of that movement, Cordoba became the civilization capital of both Spain and the West in general. Many schools were established in it, such as medical and technical schools in addition to the general education and other vocational schools. Hospitals, chemical plants and observatories were also built.

The university in Cordoba was a beacon of thought, education and culture, and it made Cordoba the home of science and of a great number of scholars and scientists in medicine, pharmacy, chemistry, astronomy, mathematics and botany. Scholarly disciplines such as philosophy and logic were also studied and busy translation activities were underway.

For that reason travelers and people in quest for knowledge and science from different European countries used to come to Cordoba. This scientific and civilizational movement was not limited to Cordoba alone, but also spread into other cities of Spain, such as Granada, Toledo and other cities under Islamic rule.

Relevant historical sources state that young men from Europe, particularly from Italy and France, competed to enroll some of the Islamic universities in Andalusia. One of the students of the university in Cordoba was Gerbert, who later became known as Pope Sylvester II. He introduced science of mathematics and Arabic numerals in Italy.

The same historical sources also read that Europe was acquainted with Aristotle’s manuscripts via the city of Toledo which was a center of bustling translation work from the Arabic into the Latin language. It was in Toledo that many works of Plato and Galen were translated, as were the philosophy manuscripts by Ibn Sina, al-Farabi, Ibn Tufayl, Ibn Bajjah and Ibn Rushd, and the medical manuscripts by Ibn Sina and al-Razi.

What are Islamic medical ethics?

Presented at “Islam in America Conference” DePaul University, Chicago, September 29, 1995. Reproduced with permission. The guiding principle in Islamic medical ethics which is mentioned in Quran and also in the Torah is, “If anyone has saved a life, it would be as if he has saved the life of the whole of mankind.” The introduction of newer technology in medicine in areas of life support in terminal patients, abortion, organ transplantation, biotechnical parenting, and care of AIDS patients has posed Muslim physicians and patients some new questions of ethics.

The ethics is not being right or wrong, all black or all white, but as having shades of gray. It is the process of making better decisions or worse decisions compared to the worst decision. Islamic medical ethics are based on the principles of the sanctity of human life and safeguarding its values, taking the lesser of the two evils.

We look upon these issues from the perspective of Muslim physicians in that we have to face the dilemma in medical ethics on a daily basis. Life, though short as it may look on this planet, is still a precious gift from God. Since we did not create our life, nor are the owners of it, we should not have the absolute power over it either.

For our soul and spirit to live in our body for a certain period can be compared to living in a beautiful, leased apartment or house.
The only thing which the landlord would like the tenant to do is to live with certain rules and regulations and do things to improve upon the apartment or house rather than destroy it.

We have a duty to preserve our life and to use it for glory and pleasure in the service of God as the quality of life would permit. The guiding principle in Islamic medical ethics which is mentioned in Quran and also in the Torah is, “If anyone has saved a life, it would be as if he has saved the life of the whole of mankind.” However, the question that we are faced with, in terms of saving life, is at what cost and what quality.

Does the quality of life modify our decision-making process and when resources are scarce, who takes precedence, the individual or the community? In addition to the emphasis on preserving life and the quality of life, the principles of biomedical ethics include promoting and restoring health, alleviating suffering, respecting patients’ autonomy, doing medical justice, telling the truth, and doing no further harm.

We, the physicians, cannot remain aloof from the religion of our patient as we ourselves, in patients not only expect me to help them in arriving at a medical decision, but also ask me to pray for them. If we, the physicians, understand the religion of our patients, we can communicate to them better and help them make viable decisions and comply with a prescribed treatment.

Sickness precipitates questions about himself and his future in the mind of a patient and drives him closer to God, whatever his distance might have been at the beginning of the illness. During illness, many patients go through spiritual growth and find their spirituality at the end. A physician’s own belief may influence his treatment options for the patient’s outcome.

For example, a physician who is totally against abortion will never advise his patient to undergo an abortion, and a physician who does not value the sanctity of life may become a suicide-doctor. The Muslim physician, knowing that we have no right to take our own lives, should not assist his patient in that, either.

Some of the rules of medical ethics include a) respect for the autonomy and b) beneficence.
People are autonomous in the decision-making process if they are able to understand and make intelligent decisions for themselves which are intentional and voluntary.
The right of patient self- determination accepted by the State is based on this principle.

The second principle is that of beneficence, which obliges persons to benefit and help others. This principle requires positive action to prevent what is bad or harmful, to remove what is bad or harmful, and to do, or promote, what is good and beneficial.The Islamic principle of forbidding what is wrong and enjoining what is good illustrates this.

The knowledge of medical technology obliges Muslim physicians to offer what medical justice requires.
Medical justice by itself is a principle of fair distribution of benefits and burdens.
Justice requires that persons receive that which they deserve and to which they are entitled.
These principles involve decisions to allocate scarce health resources.

The actual implementation of this principle remains somewhat controversial. Physicians’ response to individual justice differs at times with “societal” justice. Another rule is nonmaleficence. This principle obliges persons to refrain from harming others including refraining from killing them or treating them cruelly.

It is one of the non-intervention. It also requires the person to exercise due care so that they do not unintentionally harm others such as malpractice in medical or surgical care. Let us discuss the questions of rights and obligations. These rights mavbe considered in relation to the right to die, the right to abort a viable fetus, the right to have a child in case of infertility, or the right to donate or receive an organ, or the rights of the individual whose disease maybe due to an deviant lifestyle.

Not only should we discuss the right of the individual, but also the rights of the spouse, relatives, physician and other care- givers, the unborn, and God. While discussing the rights, we must also discuss the obligations of the State, community, the individual, the spouse, and the relatives.

In the question of the right to live or die, the question is should one prolong the life or the misery.
Who determines (the unconscious patient, the family, or the doctor), that the plug should be pulled and the life support system stopped? What is the definition of death, acceptable to both the medical technology and Islamic jurists? Is a living will justified? Is stopping the life support system an act of mercy, a medical decision, a murder, or a financial decision? While Islam gives importance to saving life, it also makes it clear that dying is part of the contract with God and part of the journey on this planet.

The final decision of the term is up to God. The quality of life is equally, if not more important than the life span on this planet. Physicians and the family should realize the limitations of medical technology and should not attempt to do heroic measures for a terminally-ill patient who is in a vegetative state and cannot be resurrected to a quality of life acceptable to him.

The heroic measures taken at the beginning of life like saving a premature baby are more justifiable than at the end of the life span.
We consider euthanasia an act of murder.
We do not see the difference between the gun used by a husband for his dying wife and the syringe used by the physician for his dying patient; both are weapons of death no matter what the intention of the killer was.

The ethical questions in the area of organ transplantation are what are the rights of the living donor, the dead body, and the recipient. To prolong life, does the recipient have a right to take away the organ from the dead? Is the sale of the organs justified? Is the taking of animal organs justified? Is accepting organs from aborted fetuses justified? Is harvesting fetuses to get more fetal tissue justified? Is the cost of transplantation worth the benefit derived from it? The total cost of heart transplantation is in excess of several hundred thousand dollars, with an average post-transplantation life of two to three years, and the quality of post-transplantation life is not necessarily the same level as it was before the development of end-stage heart disease.

I have not seen a single heart transplant patient going back to work.
Transplantation, in general, is permitted especially if it is a gift from a living donor to another living person.
From the Islamic perspective, transplantation from the dead to the living may not be permitted unless a free will is available before the death of the person.

The relatives and the physicians should respect the rights of the dead body even though their intention to save another life is noble. The ethical questions in cases of abortion are when does life begin? If a fetus is a living individual than is terminating its life a murder? What are the rights of the fetus? Who guards those rights? Do both parents even if unwed have the same rights over the life of the fetus? What should be done with the pregnancy that is the outcome of a rape? Should all such pregnancies be terminated? What if the women wants to keep her baby even if she did not want it to begin with? Is promoting or not preventing abortion which will lead to more sales of aborted fetuses for transplantation of fetal tissue and organs or their delicate skin to make expensive cosmetics justified? Islam believes that life begins when the zygote is formed.

The women of pagan Arabia, before Islam, killed their infants for the fear of poverty or the shame of birth of a girl.
Both of these acts have been condemned in Quran, but the women of today are killing their infants not for either cause but to sustain and enjoy the life of sexual freedom.
God reminds them: “Such as took their religion to be mere amusement and play, and were deceived by the life of the world.

That day shall We forget them as they forgot the meeting of this day of theirs, and as they were wont to reject Our Signs.” (Qur’an 7:51). There are many questions in the area of biotechnicall reproduction and surrogacy. Infertility is a disease and to desire to seek a cure for the disease is Islamic.

However, this has to be done within the life span of an intact marriage between husband and wife. The marriage is a legal contract not only between man and a woman, but also between God and the couple. Thus the question is whether the child was born of an intact legal marriage or outside the marriage.

In case of a surrogate father, who is the real father and does the child have the right to know his identity? In case of a surrogate mother, who is the real mother, the one whose ovum is being used or the one who lets her uterus be used? Is renting the uterus with money for this purpose allowed or justified? A woman who does not want to go through pregnancy, labor, or lactation can donate her ovum every month to different women, technically, to hire a uterus and have many children.

In the case of mothers renting their own uterus in place of their daughters’, with the sperm of their son-in law, totally disrupts the concept of marriage and social norms and of lineage. The Qur’an is specific in terms of lineage and definition of motherhood. It says, “No one can be their mother except those who gave them birth” (Qur’an 58:2).

Qur’an also says, “He has established the relationship of lineage and marriage” (Qur’an 25:54). Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) has become the plague of the century. In the United States alone, over 220,000 have been diagnosed and half of them have already died.

Who will pay for the cost of the billion of dollars spent on the care of AIDS patients since the insurance companies do not insure them? should the AIDS patient be quarantined and forced to change their lifestyle? should IV users be given free, clean needles, syringes and drugs since IV drug use and AIDS are very easily correlated? should HIV positive carriers carry an ID card? should everyone be tested for HIV without their knowledge, and if so, what should be done with the positive results in terms of employment and medical care? does paying for AIDS cases by the public or the government mean that they endorse the lifestyle of the patient? and should Muslim physicians care for AIDS patients?

The Islamic response to AIDS is, in brief, directed at a different level, firstly, to prevent the disease by having a sexual lifestyle prescribed by God. In those cases where AIDS can be acquired without a sexual contact, for example, by transfusion in case of hemophiliacs, all measures should be taken to protect the individual.

How does Islam influence medicine?

From the Middle East, in the Middle Ages Yale Medicine Magazine, 2005 – Autumn When we check into a hospital, take our children to the pediatrician or undergo a surgical procedure, it’s likely we’re benefiting from the work of medieval Muslim doctors and scholars.

Muslims’ Contributions to Medieval Medicine and Pharmacology,” an exhibit of manuscripts from the Medical Historical collection at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library, was on display in Sterling Memorial Library’s exhibit corridor until September. The exhibit, said Simon Samoeil, curator of Sterling’s Near East Collection, was designed to “provide positive insight” into the important contributions made by medieval Muslims at a time of high tensions between our nation and areas of the Muslim world.

In the seventh century, when former empires such as those of the Greeks, Persians and Romans fell under Arab domain, the new Islamic empire inherited many scholarly disciplines, including the developing fields of medicine and pharmacology. Recognizing their importance, Islamic leaders had works from other languages translated into Arabic, so research and study could continue.

The exhibit includes some remarkable examples of these early texts, including an illustrated Persian treatise on human anatomy, with six pages of detailed drawings. There is also a human anatomy book that was translated from Greek into Arabic by the 11th-century scholar and physician Avicenna. “His textbook was used in the West until the mid-17th century,” Samoeil said.

Other artifacts in the exhibit include a medical dictionary and a book containing 31 chapters of practical information about hygiene, sexual intercourse and other topics. These Arabic translations of Greek scholarship led to later translations into Latin, Samoeil says, paving the way for Greek knowledge to become accessible to the scientists and scholars of the Renaissance.

In addition to these important translations, Muslims introduced new fields of medical research and clinical practice, including gynecology, embryology and a focus on the care of mothers and children. Samoeil said medieval Muslims saw the larger value in protecting the health of women. “Women are the mothers of men,” he said.

“If the Arab empire was to flourish, the women needed to be healthy.” Early Arabs also contributed to the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases such as smallpox and measles, and Muslim doctors were the first to incorporate surgery, then a separate discipline, into the study of medicine and to develop its practice and techniques.

Perhaps the most concrete legacy is the structure of today’s hospitals, which follow the model of ninth-century Islamic hospitals. These early health care centers had open admission policies for patients of all economic backgrounds, regardless of sex, religion or ethnicity. They were run by a large administrative staff and organized into wards by gender and nature of illness.

In addition, early Islamic hospitals pioneered the idea of having on-site pharmacies and training programs for students to get practical experience under the guidance of a physician. Samoeil said the exhibit drew a favorable response from the Yale community and visitors.

The other day, I overheard three tourists,” he said. “One called out to another, ‘Come look at this. It’s amazing. I didn’t know the Arabs and the Muslims had done all this.’ ” His goal in organizing the exhibit, he said, was to draw connections between the past and the present. “It’s important to do that,” he said.

“When we look at modern materials and manuscripts, it’s important to understand how we got there, to see the connection with what came before.” : From the Middle East, in the Middle Ages

What is the Islamic message for health recovery?

‘ As’alu Allah al ‘azim rabbil ‘arshil azim an yashifika. I ask Allah, the Mighty, the Lord of the Mighty Throne, to cure you. (Recommended to repeat seven times.)

What role did Islam play in medicine?

Discover 44 more articles on this topic One of these important fields was Islamic medicine, which saw medical practice begin to resemble our modern systems. Certainly, this period of the history of medicine was centuries ahead of Europe, still embedded in the Dark Ages.

Central to Islamic medicine was belief in the Qur’an and Hadiths, which stated that Muslims had a duty to care for the sick and this was often referred to as “Medicine of the Prophet.” According to the sayings of the Prophet Muhammed, he believed that Allah had sent a cure for every ailment and that it was the duty of Muslims to take care of the body and spirit.

This certainly falls under the remit of improving the quality of healthcare and ensuring that there is access for all, with many of the Hadiths laying down guidelines for a holistic approach to health. Initially, in the early days of Islam, there was some debate about whether Islamic physicians should use Greek, Chinese and Indian medical techniques, seen by many as pagan. How To Respect Muslim Culture And Beliefs In Healthcare

How do you respect culture and religion?

– While you may tend to gravitate to people who share your culture. You have a great opportunity while at university to mix with people of different cultures and to learn about their customs and beliefs. Make an effort to have conversations with people from other cultures.

What are the 5 cultural beliefs?

4.3.1 Cultural Value Estimation – Cultural value was assessed by disaggregating it into five components: aesthetic, social, symbolic, spiritual and educational value. As a test of H2, the symbolic and spiritual components were specified as value to the individual himself or herself, and value to others or to society in general.

The respondent’s valuation against each cultural value component was measured using Likert-scale methodology to generate numerical ratings of value calibrated on a scale of 1–10 (low to high value).9 Following the standard procedures of this methodology, respondents were asked to indicate their agreement or disagreement with a series of statements, each of which related to one of the dimensions of cultural value specified.

Constraints on respondents’ time, their capacity to understand complex statements, and the potential for rapid onset of fatigue placed a limit on the number and detail of the statements that could be included.10 Moreover the translation of theoretical concepts of cultural value into simple statements that captured the essence of each dimension clearly and without ambiguity was a difficult task.

Nevertheless a series of intensive pre-survey focus groups followed by pilot testing of the questionnaire enabled refinement of the statements to meet these challenges as effectively as possible. The statements made about each painting are shown in Table 4.1, together with the particular dimension of cultural value that each was designed to assess.

The interpretation of these statements is as follows. Table 4.1, Statements to elicit estimates of cultural value of paintings.


Cultural Value Dimension	Statement a
Aesthetic	I find this painting visually beautiful
Social: for all	This painting helps us understand ourselves better as human beings
Social: for Australians	This painting helps us understand ourselves better as Australians
Symbolic: for self	This painting has cultural significance for me
Symbolic: for others	This painting could have cultural significance for other individuals or groups
Spiritual: for self	This painting conveys spiritual messages for me
Spiritual: for others	This painting could convey spiritual messages for other individuals or groups
Educational	This painting could be valuable in educating our children

a Respondents were asked to indicate their rating on a scale shown as 1, 2, 3,, 10 from left to right, with ‘Strongly disagree’ marked at the left hand end of the scale (1) and ‘Strongly agree’ at the right (10). • Aesthetic value is straightforward, being related to beauty, harmony, visual appeal, etc.

Social value is linked to cultural identity and an understanding of the role of culture in society; one statement places this possible recognition in general terms and one frames it specifically in terms of Australian identity.
Symbolic value relates to the narrative or meaning of a work or to the way in which the work is perceived to convey some wider cultural or other sorts of references; we assume these values to be summed up in the phrase ‘cultural significance’.

• Spiritual value is a difficult concept to pin down, being related to transcendental or mystical/religious sentiments generated by exposure to an art work; after testing various ways of specifying this value we found that the word ‘spiritual’ was itself the most effective means of conveying the required sense.

Why is it important to respect an individual’s cultural and religious beliefs?

Cultural diversity: Why we should respect other cultures With approximately 190 countries and 7 billion people on earth, it is not hard to imagine that many diverse cultures exist. Here in the U.S., our cultural landscape has been shaped by Native Americans and by African, Latin American, Polynesian, Asian and Middle Eastern countries.

This is the reason that the term “melting pot” fits our country, as different cultures have contributed distinct flavors. Like many others, I came to this country when I was young, in my case in my 20s. While we adapted with most cultural norms here in the U.S., some of us have kept a few from our origin, and this has been the beauty of this country — it lets you assimilate easily in its culture, while keeping your distinct identity.

To me, cultural diversity means merging different cultures; introducing good aspects of your culture to others, but also accepting the positives of a new culture. Culture shapes our identity and influences our behaviors, and cultural diversity makes us accept, and even to some extent, integrate and assimilate with other cultures.

Why cultural respect is important in health care?

Why Is Cultural Respect Important? Cultural respect is critical to reducing health disparities. It helps improve access to high-quality health care that is respectful of and responsive to the needs of diverse patients.

How do you accommodate and respect cultural needs of clients?

Strategies To Build Trust with Clients – Clinicians can also make use of empowering strategies for helping clients feel understood and accepted. The National Education Association’s Diversity Toolkit offers helpful tips:

Use inclusive language in written and verbal discussions.Ask each client for their preferred pronouns, even when you feel sure of their gender. Normalizing the concept of preferred pronouns can help communities become more aware and accepting of gender-nonconforming people.Take time to learn proper pronunciation of each person’s name. If you’re unsure of how to pronounce a name, ask a client to pronounce it for you instead of guessing.Ask for permission before touching or hugging each person, regardless of age, gender or ability. This helps clients feel they have agency and protection over their personal space and physical contact.Learn cultural customs about eye contact, physical contact and hand gestures as they pertain to any community or group with whom you are working closely.Encourage clients or patients to bring a family member to accompany them in a private room or office.Offer to translate information or rewrite it at an easier reading level for anyone who may have difficulty reading or understanding complex medical information.Know the names of cultural or diversity-related organizations in your community to connect others with or refer clients to for more help.

What is an example of cultural competence in healthcare?

Examples of Cultural Competence in Nursing – There are many examples of what a nurse who exhibits cultural competence looks like. A few key traits include:

Speaking in terms that are easy for the patient to follow and understand.
Not judging or disregarding a patient’s belief and religious background, but encouraging them to do what works best for them.
Empathizing with the patient at all times.
Valuing the individual and applauding strengths and individuality.

What cultural considerations should the nurse consider?

Examples of Cultural Competence in Nursing – There are many examples of what a nurse who exhibits cultural competence looks like. A few key traits include:

Speaking in terms that are easy for the patient to follow and understand.
Not judging or disregarding a patient’s belief and religious background, but encouraging them to do what works best for them.
Empathizing with the patient at all times.
Valuing the individual and applauding strengths and individuality.

What are considered cultural considerations?

Attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving.

What considerations are associated with caring for people from different cultures?

How To Care For Patients From Different Cultures Navigating the unique cultural and religious needs of your patients can be unnerving. You could accidentally offend your patient or their family by not knowing about a crucial cultural practice or you could could witness something that goes against your personal beliefs or convictions.

Everyday routines that the predominant culture takes for granted such as time orientation, eye contact, touch, decision-making, compliments, health-beliefs, health-care practices, personal space, modesty, and non-verbal communication can vary dramatically between cultures, sub-cultures, and religions.

Different Cultures Have Different Practices Practices that might be considered unethical to an autonomous American (e.g. allowing a family member to speak for and dictate all medical care and decisions for an aging parent), or disrespectful/suspicious to a Caucasian (e.g.

Avoiding direct eye contact), or curious to a nutritionist (e.g.
Not allowing a child to eat heated foods when they have certain illnesses), could be the acceptable practice of your patient’s culture.
Three Practices To Help Patient Interactions The trend of today’s healthcare leans toward being more inclusive of personal and cultural preferences.

This demands a knowledgeable and open response from caregivers. What can we, as nurses, do to facilitate this trend toward honoring individual choices and beliefs, even when we are not fully aware of them? By incorporating three practices, we can make these interactions both easier and more successful.

AWARENESS One of the most important elements emphasized in pursuit of competent cultural care is identifying your own beliefs and culture before caring for others. According to Culture Advantage, an organization formed to help individuals develop cross-cultural awareness and communication skills, “Caregivers are expected to be aware of their own cultural identifications in order to control their personal biases that interfere with the therapeutic relationship.

Self-awareness involves not only examining one’s culture, but also examining perceptions and assumptions about the client’s culture.” Developing this self-awareness can bring into view the caregivers biases or culturally-imposed beliefs. It can also shed light on oppression, racism, discrimination, and stereotyping and how these affect nurses personally and their work.

ACCEPTANCE A successful physician with more than forty years of experience in family medicine recently told me, “I frequently tell my patients that the key to healing is loving and accepting yourself.” What an insightful statement.
Acceptance becomes a powerful tool, but one that demands solidarity between nurse and patient.

How can patients love and accept themselves in ways that promote healing if we, as nurses, are not willing to offer them acceptance in their myriad of problems and complexities? Through the simple act of acceptance, nurses can become an agent of healing, whether or not they are aware of it.

This is the premise of Margaret Newman’s nursing theory, “Health as Expanding Consciousness,” whereby through the nurse’s presence and acceptance, the patient becomes empowered during times of personal duress or chaos to make lasting changes that promote hope, well being, and an increasingly satisfying state of “health”—one that is not dependent upon the absence or presence of disease.

In other words, healing has meaningful implications that reach beyond the current medical model’s definition as “the absence of disease.” As the patient is able to articulate meaningful events of life and to be heard without judgment, he or she becomes more conscious or “awakened” to patterns that have blocked health progress, and therefore able to choose transformational behaviors, with the continuing support of the nurse.

ASKING There is no way nurses can be expected to be aware of and practice cultural sensitivity at all times, because most religions and cultures have been developed over centuries and are replete with practices that carry symbolic meaning. When in doubt, the best way to provide sensitive care to patients of diverse cultures is to ask.

When you initiate care during your initial assessment, ask if there are any cultural or religious practices or beliefs that you need to know about in order to respect and support their needs. Many of them are used to living out their own subculture and they will probably know by experience how to educate you on their care.

If they are unsure or unaware of their unique needs in the healthcare setting, reassure them that you are willing to adjust your care based on their values if they do become aware of any issues. Encourage them to communicate those needs to you as they happen arise. Moving Ahead The trend in healthcare is to allow for more liberty in patient choices and involvement, as well as the ability to carry out their normal practices as much as possible.

Sensitive cultural care is not just a phenomenon that takes place when occasionally encountering foreigners in the hospital or providing care to someone of a different religion. It is the result of the awareness that everyone belongs to a unique subculture based on beliefs and practices and the mindful consideration and space given each and every patient.

Last Reviewed	:	24 October 2016
Translator	:	Nor Izyani bt. Hanafi
Accreditor	:	Munira bt. Muhammad