Healthcare needs of the Muslim patient community in the undergraduate medical curriculum – Are we there?: Muslim patient needs in the Undergraduate Medical Curriculum

Objective: Muslim patients have a unique set of healthcare needs that are related to their faith. These are generally not formally addressed in the medical curricula. The study aimed to recommend additional content that would better tailor the undergraduate curriculum to cater to the needs of this large cohort – Muslim patients. This is with the expectation that patients would have their faith-related health queries resolved by healthcare providers.

Methods: A quantitative descriptive survey design was adopted. A 46-item questionnaire formulated through a literature review was put forth to experts using the Delphi Technique. Experts were selected based on having an academic rank of associate professor and above or medical education credentials. Three iterative rounds were conducted for exploring consensus over a period of five months. Panel agreement of >70% was the criteria for inclusion.

Results: Items were categorized under 7 subject themes: Medicine, Psychiatry, Surgery, Gynecology, Obstetrics, Medical Ethics, and Islamic Studies. Consensus was eventually reached for 41 out of 46 items. These topics included but were not limited to “The Muslim patient in Ramadan: to fast or not to fast?” and “Muslim women and decision-making on pregnancy termination”.

Conclusion: The study suggested that the topics proposed herein were in fact legitimate faith-related healthcare needs of Muslim patients. Their inclusion would add value to the undergraduate medical curriculum and would train practitioners to improve patient outcomes more holistically.