Abstract
Suicide is a critical public health issue in the United States, recognized as the tenth leading cause of death across all age groups (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). Despite the Islamic prohibition on suicide, suicidal ideation and suicide mortality persist among Muslim populations. Recent data suggest that U.S. Muslim adults are particularly vulnerable, with a higher attempt history compared to respondents from other faith traditions. While the underlying reasons for this vulnerability are unclear, it is evident that culturally and religiously congruent mental health services can be utilized to steer suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention in Muslim communities across the United States. However, the development of Suicide Response toolkits specific to Muslim populations is currently limited. As a result, Muslim communities lack a detailed framework to appropriately respond in the event of a suicide tragedy. This paper aims to fill this gap in the literature by providing structured guidelines for the formation of a Crisis Response Team (CRT) through an Islamic lens. The CRT comprises of a group of individuals who are strategically positioned to respond to a suicide tragedy. Ideally, the team will include religious leaders, mental health professionals, healthcare providers, social workers, and community leaders. The proposed guidelines are designed to be culturally and religiously congruent and take into account the unique cultural and religious factors that influence Muslim communities' responses to suicide. By equipping key personnel in Muslim communities with the resources to intervene in an emergent situation, provide support to those affected, and mobilize community members to assist in prevention efforts, this model can help save lives and prevent future suicide tragedies in Muslim communities across the United States.
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RA contributed to the study conception and design. The first draft of the manuscript was written by ZD, YQ, MS, and AH. TK and OE-G contributed to the original suicide response manual from which this paper was derived. All authors except for Osama commented on previous versions of the manuscript. RA, ZD, and SS prepared and edited the final manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Data collection for this study was reviewed and approved by the institutional review board at Stanford University (IRB-63336). When the data were collected, informed consent was obtained from each participant. No animals were included in the study.
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Awaad, R., Durrani, Z., Quadri, Y. et al. Developing a Suicide Crisis Response Team in America: An Islamic Perspective. J Relig Health 63, 985–1001 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-023-01993-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-023-01993-3