Discrimination is not only a human and civil rights offense, but also a detrimental
influence on the health outcomes of affected populations. The Muslim population in the
United States is a growing religious minority increasingly encountered by health care
professionals in the clinical setting. This group has been subject to heightened
discrimination since the tragic events of September 11, 2001 and often is misunderstood within the context of American society today. While research has been conducted on discrimination against Muslims in the employment and educational segments of society, more studies are needed which quantify the extent and type of discrimination faced by this group in the health care setting. This inquiry focused on the crossover of anti-Muslim discrimination from society to the health care setting. A newly developed tool to measure anti-Muslim discrimination in health care and an established perceived discrimination scale were used to create the questionnaire employed in this investigation. The items of this newly created tool addressed culturally congruent care practices based on the principles of cultural safety within the nurse-patient relationship and the cultural care beliefs of the Muslim patient/family to ascertain discriminatory occurrences in the health care setting. Ray’s (2010) transcultural caring dynamics in nursing and health care model served as a framework for this quantitative, univariate, descriptive, cross-sectional design. Findings revealed that nearly one-third of Muslim subjects perceived they were discriminated against in the health care setting in the United States. Being excluded or ignored was the most frequently conveyed type of discrimination, followed by problems related to the use of Muslim clothing; offensive or insensitive verbal remarks; and problems related to Islamic holidays, prayer rituals, and physical assault, respectively. Age was positively correlated with perceived anti-Muslim discrimination in society. Education was negatively correlated with perceived discrimination in both society and the health care setting. Findings revealed that three out of five of those surveyed reported that they wear Muslim clothing; the most frequently reported of which was the hijab, the most popular Muslim garment reported to be worn. Participants who wore Muslim clothing, especially females, reported more anti-Muslim discrimination than those who did not. Scores for self-reported perceived anti-Muslim discrimination were found to be higher after the Boston Marathon bombings, April 15, 2013, an act perpetrated by Muslims, which occurred during the time of data collection. The number one Muslim care preference reported was same sex caregiver followed by respect for modesty, prayer rituals, respect for privacy, family involvement in care, and dietary concerns. Implications for practice, policy, education, political science, and recommendations for further research are discussed. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fau.edu/oai:fau.digital.flvc.org:fau_13080 |
| Contributors | Martin, Mary Brigid (author), Williams, Christine L. (Thesis advisor), Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing (Degree grantor) |
| Publisher | Florida Atlantic University |
| Source Sets | Florida Atlantic University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, Text |
| Format | 208 p., Online Resource |
| Rights | All rights reserved by the source institution, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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