End-of-Life Care Beliefs Among Muslim Physicians

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Physicians' religiosity affects their approach to end-of-life care (EOLC) beliefs. Studies exist about end-of-life care beliefs among physicians of various religions. However, data on Muslim physicians are lacking. This study explores the beliefs centering on aspects of end-of-life care among Muslim physicians in the US and other countries. DESIGN: A 25 item, online survey was created and distributed via Survey Monkey®. The survey was targeted toward Muslim physicians in the US and other countries. RESULTS: A total 461 Muslim physicians responded to our survey. The primary end point was if the Muslim physicians thought that making a patient DO NOT RESUSCITATE (DNR) is allowed in Islam?. Nearly 66.8 % of the respondents replied yes as compared to 7.38 % of the respondents who said no. Country of origin, country of practice, and if physicians had talked about comfort care in the past had the most impact on the yes vs. no response (p=0.0399, p=0.0092 and 0.0023 respectively). CONCLUSION: Muslim physicians' beliefs on EOLC issues are affected more by the area of practice, country of origin and previous experience in talking about comfort care than the religious beliefs.