Ramadan and culturally competent care: Strengthening tuberculosis protections for recently resettled Muslim refugees

Erica L. Stockbridge, Faizan A. Kabani, Jeremy S. Gallups, Thaddeus L. Miller

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

To improve latent tuberculosis infection treatment completion rates, Tarrant County Public Health began providing after-dusk home delivery of a 12-dose latent tuberculosis infection regimen of weekly rifapentine plus isoniazid administered via directly observed preventive therapy during Ramadan, a month of prayer and daytime fasting observed by Muslims. In unadjusted difference-in-difference logistic regression analyses (n = 148), Muslim patients had lower treatment completion rates than non-Muslim patients during Ramadan prior to program implementation (68.8% vs 95.4%), whereas rates were comparable postimplementation (95.7% vs 96.4%; difference-in-difference P =.011). Similar results were found after adjusting for age and gender (pre: 71.4% vs 94.8%; post: 95.5% vs 96.3%; P =.032). These findings provide evidence of the need for and effectiveness of programmatic innovations tailored to the varying cultural norms of the widely diverse populations served by public health authorities and suggest that culturally competent clinical care may advance population health goals.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)E13-E16
JournalJournal of Public Health Management and Practice
Volume26
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Sep 2020

Keywords

  • Ramadan
  • cultural competence
  • latent tuberculosis infection
  • medication adherence
  • treatment completion

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