Enhancing culturally safe healthcare for fasting Muslims during Ramadan

SUMMARY/ABSTRACT A. SECTION HEADER The project's long-term goal is to reduce health complications for diabetic Muslims who fast during Ramadan. This proposal focuses on understanding the healthcare needs of fasting Type 2 diabetic Muslims and identifying current gaps in the capacity of dietitians to respond to the needs of this population. This study addresses 3 specific aims: 1) Determine dietitians’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding providing care to fasting Muslims; 2) Assess the perspectives of Muslims with diabetes regarding the healthcare they have received concerning how to manage fasting; and 3) Integrate the perspectives of dietitians and Muslims to inform the development of care guidelines for fasting diabetic Muslims. The research design uses a cross sectional survey to assess dietitians' knowledge, attitude, and practices to provide care to fasting Muslims; focus groups with dietitians to explore the barriers, challenges, and opportunities dietitians experience while providing culturally sensitive care; and in-depth interviews with diabetic Muslims to understand their healthcare experiences related to managing fasting. Aim 3 will involve the comparison of data collected during Aims 1 and 2 to determine a) whether Muslims’ healthcare experiences align with or diverge from dietitians’ perception of their capacity to provide culturally safe care and b) support the development of an overall conceptual framework. This proposal aligns with the NIH mission by engaging in research focused on enhancing the health and reducing illness and disability among fasting diabetic Muslims.