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Reproductive health is critically important for women and yet minority women in Canada are less likely to use preventive health care services. The purpose of this paper is to increase understanding of the health behaviours of this minority population and, in particular, identify barriers to accessing reproductive health care services.

This study qualitatively analysed data from focus group discussions with 22 Muslim immigrant women in Ottawa, Canada.

The theme of modesty emerged as one of the main barriers in the health seeking behaviour of Muslim immigrant women when it comes to reproductive health and, therefore, the gender of the physician was very important. Focus group participants also discussed a preference for family physicians from the same ethnic and cultural background. Adaptation, or the need to be flexible if there was no alternative to a male doctor, emerged as a theme throughout the focus groups. Emergencies were frequently cited as a reason to adapt.

The findings reveal that while religious rules do play a predominant role in the health behaviour of Muslim immigrant women, communication by health care providers, government and health agencies can offer strategies to increase the uptake of preventive reproductive care.

This study offers unique insights into the very personal experience of reproductive health care through rich, qualitative data. Given the impact of culture and religion on perceptions and practices, in particular related to reproductive health, this study contributes to more effective communication strategies with Muslim women.

This study evaluates the effects of political institutional environment and management culture on the performance of nongovernmental/nonprofit organizations (NGOs/NPOs). Through narrative analysis of in-depth interviews conducted with the founders and directors of six Muslim womenʼs organizations (MWOs) in the United States and the Netherlands, the paper explores how these organizationsʼ relationship with the state, and the ethnic resources and management culture affect their performance. The findings indicate that when performance is evaluated as goal attainment, MWOs perform satisfactorily. However, when performance is assessed using financial sustainability or social image dimensions the results were mixed. Overall, the findings confirm that political institutional environment has significant impact on NGO/NPO performance, and that ethnic culture play a role in how MWOs are managed.

Though female labour force participation (FLFP) rates have been widely analysed across countries, the analysis of migrant women's participation has been consistently ignored in the literature. The few studies that have been conducted concentrate largely on sociological and anthropological aspects of migrant women (see Foner (1976)). This article will investigate immigrant FLFP rates, which are generally found to be different from their counterparts in the immigrants' country of origin. To evaluate the immigrant FLFP rate we analyse and quantify the nature and significance of its various demographic, socio‐economic and cultural determinants.

The purpose of this paper is to describe immigrant Muslim women’s perceived barriers and facilitators to health behaviours relating to the interface between the cultural backgrounds of the participants and the predominant culture in Canada.

A case study approach was taken to conduct ten in-depth semi-structured interviews followed by three focus groups with immigrant women in Winnipeg, Canada. A demographic questionnaire, acculturation scale, and interview guides were used for data collection. Constant comparison analytic method was utilised to extract and refine themes.

A total of 32 adult Muslim women who had emigrated from 14 countries in Asia and Africa participated in this study. Most of the participants had medium to high levels of acculturation and enculturation. Through the in-depth analysis of the participants’ insights, these factors emerged as determinants of health behaviours related to cultural interactions: changes in gender role, mistrusting the unfamiliar, feelings of alienation, new construction of time, and reconstruction of private and public spheres. These themes display the participants’ conceptual and practical adaptations in Canada.

The perspectives of those with poor spoken English language skill and the participants’ history of immigration were not obtained in this study limiting the study’s findings.

This paper reveals factors that potentially influence immigrant Muslim women’s health behaviours and should be considered when designing health promotion programs for similar groups.

This is the first paper focusing on cultural determinants of immigrant Muslim women’s health behaviour in a non-metropolitan Canadian city. Findings can help health promoters design culturally competent programs for this growing population to garner its greater participation.

This exploratory study aims to examine female Muslim immigrant patients’ expectations of physicians’ religious competence during clinical interactions.

In total, 101 female Muslim immigrants in Ottawa, Canada, completed an eight-item survey measuring patients’ expectations of physicians’ religious competence during clinical communication.

Results from the independent samples t-tests and one-way ANOVA suggested that female Muslim immigrant patients in this study expected their doctors to be aware of Islam as a religion and be sensitive to their religious needs, especially food/dietary practices during clinical communication. Although the participants did not differ in their expectations of physicians’ religious competence based on age, educational level, employment status and income level, they differed based on their frequencies of visiting doctors and their ethnic/cultural origin.

This study fills a gap in the literature by advancing understanding of religious competence during clinical interactions from female Muslim immigrant patients’ perspective. The findings can contribute to developing religiously competent and accessible health-care services for religiously diverse populations.

This paper aims to discuss the barriers to preventative breast cancer screening (BCS) among Muslim Syrian refugee women in a Western Canadian Prairie city.

Situated within a larger mixed-method study aimed at identifying barriers and facilitators to breast cancer (BC) preventative practices, the authors interviewed three key informants to get an in-depth understanding of the cultural, religious and social factors affecting knowledge of BC and BCS practices among Muslim Syrian refugee women.

Qualitative findings confirm quantitative results revealing that knowledge about BC and cultural and religious barriers on gender might translate into poor health outcomes for Muslim Syrian refugee women in a Western Canadian city.

This research has limitations related to the sample size and the lack of generalizability to all refugee women. Results indicate the need to develop culturally tailored intervention programs to increase breast awareness and participation in breast-self-examination, clinical breast examination and mammography. The study has implications for health-care policy. Muslim Syrian refugee women need to be educated about BC upon arrival in Canada to counteract low participation rates, promote positive health outcomes and decrease potential costs to the health-care system.

Evidence on Muslim Syrian refugee women’s knowledge and beliefs on BC is sparse. This study addressed this gap by documenting a lack of knowledge and barriers to BCS among Muslim Syrian refugee women.

During the refugee resettlement process, women are often subject to discriminatory policies, which may put them at risk of a difficult transition. This study aims to extend and contextualize previous findings documenting the barriers Arabic-speaking refugee and immigrant women face with regards to gaining education and employment.

Through telephone-based surveys, the authors examined the social situations, barriers and assets to gaining education and employment among Arabic speaking refugee and immigrant women (N = 50) in North Carolina.

Findings include barriers to education and employment such as the need for childcare, English proficiency and lack of transportation. Assets include connections to the community and special skills such as cooking and sewing.

This study has limitations such as a lack of representation among asylees, reliance on self-report and small sample size. Implications: this study’s findings have implications for community and medical providers’ efforts to assist refugees and immigrant’s women in education and employment and to close the gap in the social determinants of health as well as for research in this area. Minimizing the barriers that prevent them from learning English or attaining employment will require coordinated efforts across the local community, county and even the state.

The findings from this study inform research that may be relevant to other communities seeking an understanding of the social challenges faced by Arabic-speaking refugees and immigrant women, Muslim and Christian.

This study adds important information about the health and social lives of an understudied population. The authors’ discuss the implications of these findings for community members and health practitioners to better assist this population in a successful resettlement process.

There is an increasing recognition that health and social care professionals require the knowledge and skills to negotiate religious beliefs and cultures but as yet there is little understanding as to what this entails. The purpose of this paper is to explore what religious literacy means in regard to protecting children from sexual assault in Australia’s Jewish community and Muslim women who experience domestic violence.

Drawing on two ongoing research studies, this paper provides an overview of the diverse perspectives found in the literature on child sexual assault in Jewish communities and Muslim women’s experiences and responses to domestic violence.

Individual and community attitudes and responses to child sexual assault and domestic violence do not fit stereotypes either within or beyond religious communities. Hence, educating for religious literacy needs to ensure stereotypes are recognised as undue simplifications of the truth, and failure to understand this can result in harm. Furthermore, religious literacy is important for health and social care workers if they are to effectively engage with the leadership of religious communities to change community attitudes.

This paper draws together common issues around the need for religious literacy when working with Jewish and Muslim communities in addressing issues of abuse and violence.

This article develops an innovative multidisciplinary conceptual framework in the field of refugee entrepreneurship by combining the theory of mixed embeddedness with the concepts of intersectionality and agency. Focusing on the phenomenon of refugee entrepreneurship, this conceptual framework addresses the following questions: how is entrepreneurship informed by the various intersectional positions of refugees? And how do refugees exert their agency based on these intersecting identities?

By revising the mixed embeddedness approach and combining it with an intersectional approach, this study aims to develop a multidimensional conceptual framework.

This research illustrates how the intersectional positions of refugees impact their entrepreneurial motivations, resources and strategies. The authors' findings show that refugee entrepreneurship not only contributes to the economic independence of refugees in new societies but also creates opportunities for refugees to exert their agency.

This conceptual framework can be applied in empirical research and accordingly contributes to refugee entrepreneurship studies and intersectionality theory.