This project is funded under the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s program, Community Research for Health Equity (CRHE), a community-led research program that seeks to elevate community voices and make the priorities of communities the primary goal of local health system transformation efforts. The goal of the study is to explore the unique challenges that Muslims in South East Michigan face in accessing health care and within the health care system, while also examining potential solutions that lead to equitable, less biased health care. The purpose of this community-engaged research study is to empower Muslims in Southeast Michigan with the knowledge and tools to advocate for accessible, equitable, unbiased and quality health care in their communities. They will partner with organizations that serve some of the most vulnerable and minoritized Muslim communities living in Southeast Michigan, including but not limited to African American, Latino and Indigenous Native American Muslims as well as refugee and low-income first and second generation Muslim immigrants. They will use the community based system dynamics (CBSD) approach to achieve the following study objectives: 1) conduct a group model building workshop with diverse stakeholders including patients (Muslim), clinicians, payors, policy makers, and hospital and health systems, 2) develop accessible communication tools for use by workshop stakeholders to educate and disseminate study findings within their organizations and communities, and 3) organize forums to disseminate workshop findings to the broader Southeast Michigan community. The project team will also produce public-facing products of their choice to share new knowledge that can address local health care system inequities and/or make recommendations for action toward system improvements.

Principal Investigator(s)

Dr. Hyder headshot
Researcher

Ayaz Hyder, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor - The Ohio State University

Dr. Ayaz Hyder is an Assistant Professor in the College of Public Health and Core Faculty in the Translational... Read Bio

Dalia Mogahed
Researcher

Dalia Mogahed

Director of Researcher - Institute for Social Policy and Understanding

Dalia Mogahed is the Director of Research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, where she lead... Read Bio

Erum Ikramullah headshot
Researcher

Erum Ikramullah

Research Project Manager - Institute for Social Policy and Understanding

Erum Ikramullah is the Research Project Manager at ISPU, where she manages the day-to-day activities of the or... Read Bio