Primary Submission Category: Reproductive health
Sexual education and reproductive health resources among Muslim communities in New York City.
Authors: Yousra Yusuf
Presenting Author: Yousra Yusuf*
Background and Objective: Muslims in America are a highly-diverse immigrant population; 58 percent of Muslims are born abroad, majority hailing from South Asia and the Middle East and North African region. 60 percent of adult Muslims are between the ages of 18 and 39—a majority young community. American Muslim youth balance conflicting attitudes related to engaging in sexual activity. Although limited data exists on sexual behaviors in this community, Muslim youth engage in risky behaviors, including, unprotected sex, at levels similar to those reported by youth in other communities. A high percentage of American Muslim youth receive no sex education content during their youth. Few studies exist on how sex education and reproductive health messages are tailored to this community indicating the need to identify existing community assets in reproductive health and needs in sexual education in this underserved community.
Methods: Through a survey, in-depth interviews, and focus groups, we aim to explore the current landscape of reproductive health in this community. We are recruiting participants through partnerships with local organizations.
Results: Participant recruitment strategies are tailored to outreach hard-to-reach communities through in-person recruitment, social media outreach, and engaging existing community- and faith-based organization partners that primarily serve low-income, immigrant Muslim households. Study survey assesses sexual health attitudes and sources of health information in this community. Recruitment and data collection phases are ongoing. Results from the survey will be presented.
Conclusions: To our knowledge, this study is the first to map reproductive health education resources and attitudes in the American Muslim community. Community-based approaches will facilitate an in-depth understanding of reproductive health priorities in this under-resourced community.