Health is a spiritual thing: perspectives of health care professionals and female Somali and Bangladeshi women on the health impacts of fasting during Ramadan

OBJECTIVE: To explore perspectives of health care professionals and female Somali and Bangladeshi Muslim women on practices related to fasting during Ramadan, the impact of fasting on health and the role of health professionals during Ramadan. DESIGN: A cross-sectional qualitative study was conducted. Two culturally specific focus groups were conducted with six Somali and seven Bangladeshi Muslim women who observed Ramadan and lived in an inner-city neighbourhood of Toronto, Canada. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 health care professionals practicing in this inner-city area (three of whom were Muslim). Data were analysed using thematic qualitative analysis. RESULTS: Both Muslim women and health care professionals recognised the spiritual significance of the Ramadan fast. Muslim participants considered the fast to be…