This paper investigates some of the ways that Chinese medicine has been transferred to the Western world and to Islamic territories. During the Golden Age of Islam (8th to 13th century CE), the herbal drug trade promoted significant commercial and scientific exchange between China and the Muslim world. Chinese herbal drugs have been described by medieval Muslim medical scholars such as Tabari (870 CE), Rhazes (925 CE), Haly Abbas (982 CE), Avicenna (1037 CE) and Jurjani (1137 CE). The term al-sin (the Arabic word for China) is used 46 times in Avicenna's Canon of Medicine in reference to herbal drugs imported from China. Cinnamon (dar sini; "Chinese herb"), wild ginger (asaron), rhubarb (rivand-e sini), nutmeg (basbasa), incense tree wood (ood), cubeb (kababe) and sandalwood (sandal) were the most frequently mentioned Chinese herbs in Islamic medical books. There are also multiple similarities between the clinical uses of these herbs in both medical systems. It appears that Chinese herbal drugs were a major component of the exchange of goods and knowledge between China and the Islamic and later to the Western world amid this era.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Islam

Attitude ; Humans ; Islam ; Ophthalmic Solutions ; Singapore

The majority of Muslim diabetic patients are unaware of complications during fasting, therefore diabetic patients who want to fast need a pre–Ramadan assessment and education to increase their awareness of the risks of fasting. This study examined the effectiveness of Ramadan focused education aimed at increasingself-awareness and glycemic control in Muslims with type 2 diabetes who fast during Ramadan. A pre and post experiment with a randomized controlled trail was being conducted among 212 patients at Primary Care Units of Songkhla. To be eligible, patient participants must be fasting diabetic patients during Ramadan.The study is a two-centre randomized wait-list controlled trial. Subjects were 108 patients who were allocated to the intervention group (educated about meal planning, physical activity, medications, recognizing and managing complications before Ramadan) and 104 patients were in the control group or wait list control (The control group received conventional group counseling).The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, ANCOVA, and t- test. After Ramadan, we observed no difference in FBS and HbA1c between intervention and control patients. On comparing the self-awareness score of realization of the diabetic patients between the intervention and the control groups after adjusting for baseline [adjusted difference1.10, 95% confidence interval (CI). 29, 1.71; P=0.005], the difference statistically significant (p< 0.005). The intervention significantly increased self-awareness. The role of structured education for patients is well established in the management of diabetes. This should be extended to Ramadan-focused diabetes education and drug modification program on awareness of self-care and glycemic control in Muslims with type 2 diabetes who fast during Ramadan in Thailand.
Fasting ; Islam ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Awareness

Objective: The family caregiver has a pivotal role in the management of HIV/AIDS patients and their well-being is consequently crucial as it could impact negatively on the quality of caregiving. This preliminary qualitative investigation intended to explore and describe the challenges and experiences of HIV/AIDS family caregivers in Terengganu, Malaysia. Methods: A convenient sample of family caregivers of HIV/AIDS patients who were aware of the diagnosis was enrolled. Recruitment was conducted in Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia and semi-structured interviews were used. Results: Results were transcribed into verbatim before being subjected to analysis. Twelve Muslim caregivers consented participation (age range = 18.0 - 81.0; female = 75.0%, mother/wife = 50.0%; married = 83.3%; ≤ primary school = 50.0%; and self-employed = 66.7%). The four major themes that emerged were challenges of caregiving, financial issues, stigma and discrimination, and support for caregivers. Additionally, caregivers did mention several positive aspects of their caregiving role including satisfaction from helping family member and improved family relationships. Conclusion: A variety of life aspects were negatively affected by caring for HIV patients, thus requiring a multidisciplinary approach to address such issues.
HIV ; Caregivers ; Islam ; Life Change Events ; Patients ; Malaysia

Indian Muslims, compared to their counterparts from other religions, lag behind on several yardsticks related to socioeconomic progress and the same is true with maternal health care utilization. Due to low age at marriage among Muslims, a majority of births is ascribed to young (15-24 years) mothers, which pose serious concerns on the maternal health care of Young Married Muslim women (YMMW). A thorough search of past literatures on Muslim women’s maternal health care reveals that the research on the determinants of maternal health care utilization among Muslim women is almost absent. Retrieving data from the National Family Health Survey -3 (2005-06) this study attempts to assess the level of utilization and factors effecting three key maternal health indicators [Full Antenatal Care (ANC), safe delivery and Postnatal Care (PNC)] among YMMW (15-24 years) in India. Bi-variate analysis and chi-square test was applied and variables which were found to be significant were further included in binary logistic regression. The findings of the study reveal abysmally low levels of utilization for all three indicators of maternal health care i.e. full ANC, safe delivery and PNC. Multivariate analysis reveals that no mass media exposure, lower autonomy, education, poor economic background, higher birth order and unintended pregnancy are some of the reasons behind low maternal health care utilization. The study suggests educating Muslim girls, promoting family planning use, involving media and collaboration between religious leader and health care system could be some important policy level interventions to address the unmet need of maternity services among YMMW. Existing government policies and programs should integrate YMMW who are poor and belong to backward states with poor demographic indicators.​
Women ; Islam ; Adolescent ; Young Adult ; Maternal Welfare ; India

Education is considered to be a cultural and value-driven matter where any intervention in this field requires certain tools in order to describe the status quo. The current study, while taking into account the contextual texts related to Islamic mentoring, seeks to develop a tool to quantify this concept, as well as introduce the respective psychometric properties. A 113 items questionnaire was designed after reviewing the literature, the recommended guidelines concerning Islamic mentor and mentee, and reviewing available international tools. Content validity of the questionnaire was evaluated based on several criteria of clarity, fitness, and comprehensiveness by a survey of 10 experts and the necessary corrections were made. In the primary phase of this study, the psychometric properties of this questionnaire were evaluated by collecting the data from a random sample of 213 Iranian Ph.D. students in Tehran Universities of Medical Sciences. The factors analysis results show that 70 items, in the form of nine factors, construct the Islamic monitoring. Furthermore, The Cronbach's α coefficient was determined for each factor and the entire questionnaire. Total reliability of the scale was obtained at 0.97. Considering the confirmed validity and reliability of the questionnaire, this tool can be highly beneficial for the experts and education professionals, particularly in the field of medicine, for the assessment and establishment of mentoring.
Education ; Education, Medical ; Humans ; Iran ; Islam ; Mentors ; Psychometrics ; Reproducibility of Results

This is a case of a Muslim medical student who sought psychiatric consultation because of suicidal behaviors and declining academic performance, diagnosed with Borderline Personality and Major Depressive Disorder. It was later discovered that she had gone through various instances of physical, emotional and sexual trauma since she was a child. These histories of transgenerational trauma were explored throughout the course of evaluation, including how these experiences had affected her current condition.
Depressive Disorder ; Suicidal Ideation ; Islam ; Students ; Referral and Consultation

BACKGROUND: The goal of the present study was to determine the relationships between attachment styles and resiliency in obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. METHODS: A random sample of 260 subjects was obtained from the population of undergraduate students of the Nour Branch of Islamic Azad University, which is located in Mazandaran, and these subjects were enrolled in this descriptive and correlational study. The collected data included the subjects' responses to an adult attachment style questionnaire, resilience scale, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder questionnaire. The data were analyzed with Pearson correlation coefficient indices and multiple regressions. RESULTS: The results of the data analysis showed a positive correlation (relationship) between ambivalent/avoidant attachment styles and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and a negative correlation between resilience and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. Furthermore, these results demonstrated that attachment style and resiliency can predict obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. In addition, no significant relationships were found between the demographic variables (convertibles) and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. CONCLUSION: These results suggested that attachment style and resiliency contribute to the development of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.
Adult ; Compulsive Personality Disorder* ; Humans ; Islam ; Object Attachment ; Resilience, Psychological ; Statistics as Topic

PURPOSE: The goal of the current study was to identify associations between the learning style of nursing students and their cultural values and demographic characteristics. METHODS: A non-probability purposive sampling method was used to gather data from two populations. All 156 participants were female, Muslim, and full-time degree students. Data were collected from April to June 2010 using two reliable and validated questionnaires: the Learning Style Scales and the Values Survey Module 2008 (VSM 08). A simple linear regression was run for each predictor before conducting multiple linear regression analysis. The forward selection method was used for variable selection. P-values < or =0.05 and < or =0.1 were considered to indicate significance and marginal significance, respectively. Moreover, multi-group confirmatory factor analysis was performed to determine the invariance of the Farsi and English versions of the VSM 08. RESULTS: The perceptive learning style was found to have a significant negative relationship with the power distance and monumentalism indices of the VSM 08. Moreover, a significant negative association was observed between the solitary learning style and the power distance index. However, no significant association was found between the analytic, competitive, and imaginative learning styles and cultural values (P>0.05). Likewise, no significant associations were observed between learning style, including the perceptive, solitary, analytic, competitive, and imaginative learning styles, and year of study or age (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Students who reported low values on the power distance and monumentalism indices are more likely to prefer perceptive and solitary learning styles. Within each group of students in our study sample from the same school the year of study and age did not show any significant associations with learning style.
Demography* ; Female ; Humans ; Iran* ; Islam ; Learning* ; Linear Models ; Malaysia* ; Nursing* ; Students, Nursing* ; Weights and Measures

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There is a scant evidence on the use of simulations in audiology (especially in Malaysia) for case-history taking, although this technique is widely used for training medical and nursing students. Feedback is one of the important components in simulations training; however, it is unknown if feedback by instructors could influence the simulated patient (SP) training outcome for case-history taking among audiology students. Aim of the present study is to determine whether the SP training with feedback in addition to the standard role-play and seminar training is an effective learning tool for audiology case-history taking. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Twenty-six second-year undergraduate audiology students participated. A cross-over study design was used. All students initially attended two hours of seminar and role-play sessions. They were then divided into three types of training, 1) SP training (Group A), 2) SP with feedback (Group B), and 3) a non-additional training group (Group C). After two training sessions, the students changed their types of training to, 1) Group A and C: SP training with feedback, and 2) Group B: non-additional training. All the groups were assessed at three points: 1) pre-test, 2) intermediate, and 3) post-test. The normalized median score differences between and within the respective groups were analysed using non-parametric tests at 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: Groups with additional SP trainings (with and without feedback) showed a significantly higher normalized gain score than no training group (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The SP training (with/ without feedback) is a beneficial learning tool for history taking to students in audiology major.
Audiology ; Cross-Over Studies ; Education, Medical ; Hearing ; Humans ; Islam ; Learning ; Malaysia ; Students, Nursing