Muslim patients and health disparities in the UK and the US
- 1 October 2007
- journal article
- review article
- Published by BMJ in Archives of Disease in Childhood
- Vol. 92 (10), 922-926
- https://doi.org/10.1136/adc.2006.104364
Abstract
This article provides a framework for understanding how Muslim identity, and the current social and political contexts in which it is shaped, affects the health of Muslims in the UK and the US, and the quality of health care they receive. Key medical and public health literature that addresses health concerns related to Muslim communities in the UK and the US is reviewed. Few data exist specific to health disparities for Muslim minorities. However, the article focuses on emerging studies concerning the consequences of "Islamophobia" for the physical and mental health and health care of Muslim families and children. We argue that, despite substantive structural differences in the health care systems of the UK and the US, social structural and political forces play similar roles in the health of Muslim children in both countries. Finally, we call for significant cultural and institutional adjustments in health care settings and further research studies to provide specific data to address health disparities for these growing and diverse populations.Keywords
This publication has 39 references indexed in Scilit:
- Influenza a Common Viral Infection among Hajj Pilgrims: Time for Routine Surveillance and VaccinationJournal of Travel Medicine, 2006
- Racial/Ethnic Discrimination and Common Mental Disorders Among Workers: Findings From the EMPIRIC Study of Ethnic Minority Groups in the United KingdomAmerican Journal of Public Health, 2005
- Hajj: journey of a lifetimeBMJ, 2005
- Proceedings of the Third Biennial National Conference on Health Issues in the Arab-American Community. Dearborn, Michigan, USA. October 24-25, 2003.2005
- Meeting the needs of minority ethnic patientsJournal of Advanced Nursing, 2004
- Cultural Competence — Marginal or Mainstream Movement?The New England Journal of Medicine, 2004
- Discrimination against childrenArchives of Disease in Childhood, 2004
- Marginalization and symbolic violence in a world of differences: war and parallels to nursing practiceNursing Philosophy, 2004
- Attitudes towards disability amongst Pakistani and Bangladeshi parents of disabled children in the UK: considerations for service providers and the disability movementHealth & Social Care in the Community, 2003
- Racism, the National Health Service, and the Health of Black PeopleInternational Journal of Health Services, 1988