Impact of Religiosity, Stigma Attitudes, and Knowledge on Choices of Psychological Intervention for Pain Among Muslims

Abstract

Research reveals that Muslims living in the United States face unique factors that impact the underutilization of formal mental health services (Aloud & Rathur, 2009). These factors include but are not limited to stigma, lack of familiarity with services, religious beliefs, and discrimination in the healthcare setting. Although there is a body of research addressing minority experiences with seeking formal mental health services, there is still very limited research examining the barriers to utilizing formal mental health services for the care of pain among Muslims. This is despite ethnic minority groups tending to report greater pain severity and more frequent daily pain, compared to the general population (De Luca et al., 2016; Gagnon et al., 2013; Meghani & Cho, 2009) which results in greater odds of using over the counter and prescription pain medications (Meghani & Cho, 2009). This exploratory study sought to examine predictors of the utilization of psychological intervention for pain care among a sample of 414 adult, American Arab, Middle Eastern, and North African (AMENA), Muslims, in the United States. The relationship between the utilization of psychological intervention for pain and variables including religious attitudes about health, attitudes about medication for pain, stigma regarding use of psychological services for mental health problems, and regarding use of psychological services for pain, perceptions of chronic illness, and knowledge of psychological interventions for pain care were examined. Many of the perceived barriers to treatment demonstrated significantly predicted the likelihood to utilize psychological intervention for pain care including religious health fatalism, attitudes toward pain medication, and all three forms of stigma. This study emphasizes the importance of gaining a better understanding of what cultural and knowledge-based barriers AMENA Muslim individuals face when seeking alternative treatments for pain management. The information gleaned from this study promotes future research on alternative interventions for chronic pain patients, among AMENA Muslims who as a minority group may be more likely to suffer from poor mental health outcomes which may be exacerbated by experiences with pain. Furthermore, healthcare providers can use this information to inform treatment recommendations and increase awareness in the AMENA Muslim community of the barriers to utilizing psychological intervention for pain care and the benefits of psychological approaches.