Inspiring Muslim Minds: Evaluating a Spiritually Adapted Psycho-educational Program on Addiction to Overcome Stigma in Canadian Muslim Communities

Exploring Faith Leaders' Experiences in Supporting Individuals with Mental Health Challenges in Ottawa, Canada

Faith leaders are often called upon to provide mental health support to their congregants, yet there is limited research on how these leaders experience this aspect of their role. The objective of this study is to understand the experiences of faith leaders who are sought by individuals for mental health support. We report on the findings from a qualitative study based on interviews with faith leaders of different denominations in Ottawa, Canada. The results indicate that faith leaders are asked to provide support for a wide - but not comprehensive - range of mental health issues; that faith leaders experience various challenges in managing role boundaries; and that these leaders believe that training not only in mental health issues, but also on subjects of liability and self-care to maintain their own wellness would be valuable. We address implications for research and practice.

British South Asian and Muslim Community's Perceptions and Experiences of Addiction and Traditional Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services

Within traditional drug and alcohol (D&A) treatment services, the majority of those accessing support are of white ethnicity, with only a small percentage of people from the British South Asian (BSA) and Muslim community engaging in treatment services. This paper aims to explore perceived barriers to accessing traditional D&A services within the British South Asian and Muslim communities, based on qualitative data from interviews with family members and a practitioner. Qualitative data were obtained via 11 semi-structured interviews involving a practitioner (n = 1), and family and friends (n = 10) of those with historic and current D&A use in the community. Reflexive thematic analysis revealed four themes: (1) awareness of drug and alcohol use in the community, (2) drug and alcohol use as a taboo topic and the impact of admitting use, (3) knowledge of services for treatment, (4) how to increase awareness and accessibility of treatment. There was an increasing awareness of D&A use in the BSA and Muslim community. Despite this, limited conversations and misconceptions around D&A use and recovery led to those using D&A and their family members feeling stigmatised within their community and unable to seek support. This paper concludes by recommending increased communication between the BSA and Muslim communities and D&A treatment services to ensure accessibility of treatment by improving cultural competency.

Mosques and Public Health Promotion: A Scoping Review of Faith-Driven Health Interventions

BACKGROUND

Religious institutions play a crucial role in health promotion and hold significant influence in the public health field.

AIM

The aim of this review is to examine outcomes of health-promoting interventions involving the use of mosques as the intervention venue, its role in promoting health behavior change, and the role of theory in each intervention.

METHODS

A scoping review was conducted across 17 databases for relevant publications published up to and including August 2023 that involved the use of mosques as the intervention venue. Fourteen articles met inclusion criteria and were reviewed.

RESULTS

The studies featured a wide range of interventions. However, only eight of these studies integrated theoretical frameworks into their approaches, indicating a need for more structured guidance in this field. These theoretical frameworks included Participatory Action Research (PAR), the theory of planned behavior, behavior-change constructs, the patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR) framework, and prolonged exposure techniques within Islamic principles. The review identified three main health-focused intervention categories: mental health, prevention, and communication, each providing valuable insights into initiatives within Muslim communities.

CONCLUSIONS

This review underscores the significance of inclusive and culturally sensitive health interventions, emphasizing the effectiveness of faith-based approaches in improving health outcomes, promoting positive health behaviors, and addressing communication and cultural barriers. The reviews findings stress the need for further research that incorporates theoretical frameworks and tailored interventions to meet the specific cultural needs of these communities, ultimately contributing to enhanced well-being within them.

Examining recovery and mental health service satisfaction among young immigrant Muslim women with mental distress in Quebec

OBJECTIVE

The overall aim of this study was to understand the experiences and perspectives of immigrant Muslim women in Quebec living with mental illness, who have recently used formal mental health services such as an accredited therapist, psychologist, or clinician. Specific objectives included (i) eliciting and examining their self-identified barriers and facilitators to recovery; (ii) exploring links between religion and mental health; and (iii) self-reported satisfaction with mental health services received.

METHODS

We adopted a qualitative approach, facilitating the prioritization of participant perspectives. This involved semi-structured interviews with 20 women who (i) identified as Muslim; (ii) had used mental health services in the last three years; and (iii) were 18 + years of age. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis techniques.

RESULTS

Three prominent themes emerged from the analysis. These themes were (i) stigma and misunderstandings in families (especially parents) and sometimes in the ethno-religious community, both acting as barriers to health service utilization and recovery; (ii) frustrating clinical experiences within formal mental health care settings, in particular a perceived lack of cultural and religious competence, which negatively affected service utilization and the development of a therapeutic alliance; and (iii) deeply-held religious beliefs, practices and trust in God imparting a rhythm, purpose and meaning, which were strong facilitators to recovery.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

These findings suggest that recovery from mental illness can be advanced by a three-pronged approach in this population. First, anti-stigma mental health literacy interventions could be held in collaboration with Muslim community groups. Second, there is a need for further religious and cultural competence interventions, resources and trainings for mental health professionals working with Muslims. Third, self-care resources should be developed that harness aspects of religious practices that can give structure, meaning, purpose and hope. All this could ultimately foster recovery in this population.

Health and Social Care Outcomes in the Community: Review of Religious Considerations in Interventions with Muslim-Minorities in Australia, Canada, UK, and the USA

The aims of this integrative review included examining the intervention characteristics, religious tailoring, and behavioural outcomes of health and social care interventions with Muslim-minorities in Australia, Canada, UK, and the USA. Nineteen articles were included, and each showed some level of improved health and social care outcomes associated with interventions that were religiously tailored to Islamic teachings, and when notions of health were extended to physical, psychological, spiritual and social domains. Future studies should measure levels of religiosity to understand whether religiously tailored interventions produce a significant intervention effect when compared to non-religiously tailored interventions with Muslims.

What Social Workers Need to Know about Muslims: An Analysis of the Contemporary Social Work Scholarship

This article analyzes peer-reviewed English-language social work scholarship on Islam and Muslims published between 2011 and 2021. Of these 127 articles, 70 journal venues are represented, and first authors are primarily American (44 percent), followed by British (15 percent) and Canadian (11 percent). A total of 70 journals published studies analyzing data related to Muslims/Islam and social work, with 46 consisting of only one publication between 2011 and 2021. A total of 13 of these journals had a SCImago Journal Rank indicator of over 0.5, and three with rankings over 1.0. The volume of publications was high in 2015 and 2020, in particular. Major themes include faith-aligned and strengths-based approaches, the importance of mosques in the lives of Muslims, the relevance of the hijab in the lives of Muslim women, and the prevalence and impact of sociopolitical stereotypes. The conclusion calls for still greater culturally respectful approaches to the profession that include Islam and Muslim individuals/communities and ensuring that ethics and practice/research continue to evolve in ways that are culturally relevant to diverse communities.

Causal complexity in human research: On the shared challenges of behavior genetics, medical genetics, and environmentally oriented social science

We received 23 spirited commentaries on our target article from across the disciplines of philosophy, economics, evolutionary genetics, molecular biology, criminology, epidemiology, and law. We organize our reply around three overarching questions: (1) What is a cause? (2) How are randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and within-family genome-wide association studies (GWASs) alike and unalike? (3) Is behavior genetics a qualitatively different enterprise? Throughout our discussion of these questions, we advocate for the idea that behavior genetics shares many of the same pitfalls and promises as environmentally oriented research, medical genetics, and other arenas of the social and behavioral sciences.

The prevalence and treatment utilization of substance use disorders among Muslims in the United States: A national epidemiological survey

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Research on substance use disorder (SUD) among Muslims in the United States (US) is limited. There are several unique factors, including denial and stigma, that make this population at risk of SUD. This study explored the prevalence, treatment utilization, and impact of SUD among Muslims in the US compared with a matched control group from general respondents.

METHODS

Data from 372 self-identified Muslims were obtained from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions III. A matched non-Muslim control group (N = 744) were selected based on demographics and other SUD-related clinical variables. The impact of SUD was assessed using the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12).

RESULTS

Among the 372 Muslims, 53 (10.85%) had lifetime alcohol/drug use disorder, while 75 (18.42%) had lifetime tobacco use disorder (TUD). With statistical significance, alcohol use disorder (AUD) was lower while TUD was higher in the Muslim group than in the control group. The rates of all other substances were not statistically different between the Muslim and control groups. The Muslim group have higher help-seeking and a lower mean score on the SF-12 emotional scale than the control group.

CONCLUSION AND SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE

Muslim Americans have higher prevalence of TUD, lower prevalence of AUD, and similar prevalence of other SUD compared to the public. Affected individuals have poor emotional functioning which may be exacerbated by the impact of stigma. This is the first study to estimate prevalence of variety of SUD in American Muslims from a national representative sample.

Barriers and facilitators to accessing inpatient and community substance use treatment and harm reduction services for people who use drugs in the Muslim communities: A systematic narrative review of studies on the experiences of people who receive services and service providers

BACKGROUND

The prevalence of drug use in Muslim communities is difficult to estimate due to religious, social, and cultural prohibition toward drug use. With Islam affecting all aspects of life in the Muslim world, people who use drugs do it clandestinely to avoid stigma and exclusion from the community, leading to a low number of them seeking treatment for their drug use. This review explored the barriers and facilitators to accessing inpatient and community substance use treatment and harm reduction services for people who use drugs in Muslim communities.

METHODS

This review was in accordance with PRISMA. Seven databases were systematically searched for qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods studies conducted in countries where at least 70% of the population were Muslim or where data were presented separately for Muslim communities in other countries. Eligible articles were reviewed, and key qualitative themes were abstracted and compared across studies and settings.

RESULTS

Twenty-four studies were included from Iran, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Egypt, Lebanon, and UAE. Two themes were identified: a psychosocial theme included denial of the problem severity, lack of trust in the treatment system, fear of breach in confidentiality and privacy, the need for community support, religion and women who use drugs. Additionally, an organizational theme included affordability, treatment Service characteristics, lack of Awareness, service providers' Attitudes, drug use registration and fear of legal consequences of drug use. Stigma was also identified as an over-arching theme. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) was used to assess the quality of the included studies with where 12 of the studies met all 5 the quality criteria. No studies were excluded for having lower quality scores.

CONCLUSION

This review reflected how diverse the Muslim world is in drug use. It is important to use mosques to raise awareness on people who use drugs and reduce stigma. Providing holistic services for people who use drugs specially women will improve their access to treatment and harm reduction services in the Muslim world.

Mental healthcare-seeking behavior of women in Bangladesh: content analysis of a social media platform

BACKGROUND

Mental health remains a highly stigmatized area of healthcare, and people often conceal their concerns rather than seek assistance or treatment. The Women Support Initiative Forum (WSIF) is a social media platform established in 2018 to provide expert and peer-led psychosocial support services to women of all ages in Bangladesh. The anonymous nature of the forum means that mental health concerns can be aired without fear of identification.

METHOD

A content analysis was conducted on the anonymous posts retrieved from the WSIF platform between 8^th March 2020 and 7^th July 2022. Around 1457 posts were initially selected for analysis which was reduced to 1006 after removing duplicates and non-relevant posts, such as queries about the addresses of the doctors and other non-mental health-related issues. A thematic analysis of the data was conducted using an inductive approach.

RESULT

The 1006 posts generated four themes and nine sub-themes. All the women mentioned mental health symptoms (n = 1006; 100%). Most also mentioned reasons for seeking mental healthcare (n = 818; 81.31%), healthcare-seeking behavior (n = 667; 66.30%), and barriers to seeking mental healthcare (n = 552; 54.87%). The majority of women described symptoms of stress, depression, and anxiety-like symptoms, which were aggregated under common mental health conditions. Mental health symptoms were ascribed to various external influences, including marital relationship, intrafamilial abuse, and insecurities related to the COVID-19 pandemic. A large proportion of posts were related to women seeking information about mental healthcare services and service providers (psychologists or psychiatrists). The analysis found that most women did not obtain mental healthcare services despite their externalized mental health symptoms. The posts identified clear barriers to women accessing mental health services, including low mental health literacy, the stigma associated with mental healthcare-seeking behavior, and the poor availability of mental health care services.

CONCLUSION

The study revealed that raising mass awareness and designing culturally acceptable evidence-based interventions with multisectoral collaborations are crucial to ensuring better mental healthcare coverage for women in Bangladesh.