Disclosure Practices in Muslim Patients and the Impact on End-of-Life Care: A Narrative Review.
Mona Tareen
PMID 39588585WHAT IT FOUND
Families often withheld Muslim patients' terminal diagnosis to protect hope, while many patients themselves wanted full information.
Do not assume Muslim patients prefer non-disclosure.
Key findings
01Families often asked clinicians not to disclose diagnosis or prognosis because they feared loss of hope or hastening death.
02Patient preferences were mixed: nearly half of one advanced-cancer group wanted information withheld if it would cause loss of hope, but 90% wanted all therapeutic options.
03Withholding information created tension between families and healthcare providers and, in some cases, prolonged the dying process.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This is a narrative review, not a meta-analysis, so it does not combine results into an effect estimate. The review searched only English-language articles, so it may miss perspectives from non-English Muslim communities. Many included studies had small samples, convenience sampling, or few-site designs, so findings may not apply broadly. The literature mixed patients, families, clinicians and chaplains, so preferences cannot be assumed to be the same for every Muslim patient or family. The review did not test whether a disclosure strategy improves care.
Declared interests
The author declared no potential conflicts of interest and received no financial support for the work.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume Muslim patients or families all prefer non-disclosure. The review found many patients wanted disclosure, and preferences varied by study and individual.