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In the US, end-of-life health care (EOLHC) is often intensive and invasive, and at times may involve care that is inconsistent with patient values. US Muslims may not receive appropriate religious support, experience uncertainty around end-of-life decision-making, and under-utilize palliative and hospice care. As technological advancements and treatment options rise in EOLHC, Muslim American patients and their families need to understand more about the treatment options that are consistent with their beliefs. The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of a pilot mosque-based educational workshop focused on increasing Muslim Americans' religious bioethics knowledge about end-of-life healthcare. Intervention sites were four mosques with racially and ethnically diverse members, two in the Chicago metropolitan area and two in the Washington, D.C. area. Eligible participants were self-reported Muslims, aged 18 years or older, who were proficient in English. The intervention included a pre and post-test survey and a workshop focused on the Islamic bioethical perspectives on EOLHC. Knowledge was measured with six true-false questions. Baseline and post-intervention scores were analyzed by McNemar's test and bivariate correlation. Overall, the analysis showed a significant improvement in post-intervention participant knowledge. There was increased knowledge of Islamic bioethical views on the moral status of seeking healthcare, brain death controversies, and religious perspectives on withholding or withdrawing life support near the end of life. Our pilot intervention successfully increased participant knowledge and underscores the need to improve the Muslim community's knowledge about the bioethical dimensions of EOLHC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background To advance the literature on religiously-tailored interventions and on Muslim cancer screening disparity research, we report on a behavioral intervention that used religiously-tailored messages to address salient mammography-related barrier beliefs. Methods We crafted specific, religiously-tailored messages and designed a two-session, peer-led, mosque-based educational program to deploy them. t-tests assessed pre- and post-intervention changes in mammography knowledge, intention to obtain mammography, and levels of agreement with mammography-related barrier and facilitator beliefs, while ordered logistic regression models assessed predictors of change. Results 58 women participated, 29 who were South-Asian and 18 Arab. Mean mammography knowledge increased post-intervention. Participants' overall mean agreement with facilitator beliefs trended upward and there was a significant decrease in agreement with the belief "Breast Cancer Screening is not important because God decides who will get cancer," Discussion Religiously-tailored messages provide an opportunity for addressing barriers to preventive health in a theologically consonant way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine if a counseling intervention using the principles of motivational interviewing (MI) would impact uptake of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) after abortion.Methods: We conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial comparing an MI-based contraception counseling intervention to only non-standardized counseling. Sixty women 15-29 years-old were randomized.Primary Outcome: uptake of LARC within four weeks of abortion.Secondary Outcomes: uptake of any effective contraceptive, contraceptive use three months after abortion and satisfaction with counseling. Bivariate analysis was used to compare outcomes.Results: In the intervention arm, 65.5% of participants received a long-acting method within four weeks compared to 32.3% in the control arm (p=0.01). Three months after the abortion, differences in LARC use endured (60.0% vs. 30.8%, p=0.05). Uptake and use of any effective method were not statistically different. More women in the intervention arm reported satisfaction with their counseling than women in the control arm (92.0% vs. 65.4%, p=0.04).Conclusion: Twice as many women in the MI-based contraception counseling intervention initiated and continued to use LARC compared to women who received only non-standardized counseling.Practice Implications: A contraception counseling session using the principles and skills of motivational interviewing has the potential to impact LARC use after abortion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Churches provide an innovative and underutilized setting for diabetes self-management programs for Latinos. This study sought to formulate a conceptual framework for designing church-based programs that are tailored to the needs of the Latino community and that utilize church strengths and resources. To inform this model, we conducted six focus groups with mostly Mexican-American Catholic adults with diabetes and their family members ( N = 37) and found that participants were interested in church-based diabetes programs that emphasized information sharing, skills building, and social networking. Our model demonstrates that many of these requested components can be integrated into the current structure and function of the church. However, additional mechanisms to facilitate access to medical care may be necessary to support community members' diabetes care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess weight-related beliefs and concerns of overweight urban, African-American children, their parents, and community leaders before developing a family-based intervention to reduce childhood overweight and diabetes risk.Design: We conducted 13 focus groups with overweight children and their parents and eight semistructured interviews with community leaders.Participants and Setting: Focus group participants (N = 67) from Chicago's South Side were recruited through flyers in community sites. Interview participants (N = 9) were recruited to sample perspectives from health, fitness, education, civics, and faith leaders.Results: Community leaders felt awareness was higher for acute health conditions than for obesity. Parents were concerned about their children's health, but felt stressed by competing priorities and constrained by lack of knowledge, parenting skills, time, and financial resources. Parents defined overweight in functional terms, whereas children relied upon physical appearances. Children perceived negative social consequences of overweight. Parents and children expressed interest in family-based interventions to improve nutrition and physical activity and offered suggestions for making programs interesting.Conclusions: This study provides insights into the perspectives of urban, African-American overweight children, their parents, and community leaders regarding nutrition and physical activity. The specific beliefs of these respondents can become potential leverage points in interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interventions to improve health outcomes among patients with diabetes, especially racial or ethnic minorities, must address the multiple factors that make this disease so pernicious. We describe an intervention on the South Side of Chicago--a largely low-income, African American community--that integrates the strengths of health systems, patients, and communities to reduce disparities in diabetes care and outcomes. We report preliminary findings, such as improved diabetes care and diabetes control, and we discuss lessons learned to date. Our initiative neatly aligns with, and can inform the implementation of, the accountable care organization--a delivery system reform in which groups of providers take responsibility for improving the health of a defined population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]