Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 May;57(4):644-654.
doi: 10.1007/s10597-020-00699-0. Epub 2020 Aug 25.

Inspiring Muslim Minds: Evaluating a Spiritually Adapted Psycho-educational Program on Addiction to Overcome Stigma in Canadian Muslim Communities

Ahmed N Hassan  1   2   3   4 , Heba Ragheb  5 , Arfeen Malick  5 , Zainib Abdullah  6 , Yusra Ahmad  7   8 , Nadiya Sunderji  7   9 , Farah Islam  10
Affiliations

Inspiring Muslim Minds: Evaluating a Spiritually Adapted Psycho-educational Program on Addiction to Overcome Stigma in Canadian Muslim Communities

Ahmed N Hassan et al. Community Ment Health J. 2021 May.

Abstract

The stigma of addiction in Muslim communities is a significant barrier to accessing mental health services. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of a newly developed spiritually-adapted addictions psychoeducational program with adult Muslims in the mosque setting. Ninety-three individuals were recruited from nine different mosques within Toronto, Canada. Ninety-minute seminars were presented. This study used a convergent mixed method design. There was a significant increase in the participants' self-reported knowledge (t = 3.6; p < 0.001), a more positive attitude on two scales (t = 3.7; p < 0.001 and t = 2.9; p = 0.005) and an increase in willingness to seek help from a medical doctor and mental health professional (t = 4.4; p < 0.001 and t = 2.2; p = 0.03, respectively) post-seminar as compared to baseline. Qualitative data confirmed these changes. Evidence-informed spiritually-adapted outreach program in the mosque setting can help reduce addiction related stigma in Muslim communities.

Keywords: Addiction; Attitude; Help-seeking; Knowledge; Mental health; Muslims; Psychoeducation.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Abu-Ras, W., Ahmed, S., & Arfken, C. L. (2010). Alcohol use among U.S. Muslim college students: Risk and protective factors. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332640.2010.500921 . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ahmed, S., & Amer, M. (2013). Counseling muslims: Handbook of mental health issues and interventions. Abingdon: Routledge. - DOI
    1. Al-Karam, C. Y. (2018). Islamically integrated psychotherapy: Uniting faith and professional (3rd ed.). West Conshohocken: Templeton Foundation Press.
    1. Algabbani, A. M., Almubark, R., Althumiri, N., Alqahtani, A., & BinDhim, N. (2018). The prevalence of cigarette smoking in Saudi Arabia in 2018. Food and Drug Regulatory Science Journal, 1(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.32868/rsj.v1i1.22 . - DOI
    1. Ali, O. M., & Milstein, G. (2012). Mental illness recognition and referral practices among imams in the United States. Journal of Muslim Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.3998/jmmh.10381607.0006.202 . - DOI

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources