The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

Beginning in 2004, Lance Laird has been conducting a number of projects related to Muslims, medicine, and healing under the auspices of the Boston Healing Landscape Project, directed by Linda Barnes. He conducted an informal baseline needs assessment for cultural competence training on caring for Muslims patients among staff at Boston Medical Center. With Linda Barnes and Justine deMarrais, he conducted an ethnographic content analysis of how Muslims and Islam are portrayed in medical literature abstracts, which is now under review for publication.

Dr. Laird has three ethnographic projects underway at this time, each of which examines how Muslims integrate Islam into healthcare decision making:

1. "Muslim Patients and the Cultures of Healing in Boston," funded by the Kenneth B. Schwartz Center. Laird and research assistant Siraad Yusuf, MD conducted 16 interviews with Muslim patients or their families, focused on illness and health care experiences, sensitivities, and perceived needs. He also prepared two practical resources: "Best practice guidelines for culturally competent care of Muslim patients" and "Annotated links and bibliography for culturally competent care," both of which appear on the BHLP website. When coding is complete, Dr. Laird will develop three teaching cases for use in BHLP's medical education curriculum.
2. "The Profession of Islam and the Health Care Profession in Boston," funded by the American Academy of Religion, includes interviews with 11 Muslim healthcare providers, with a focus on vocation, the significance of Islamic heritage, and the integration of religious and professional identities in practice and in community leadership.
3. "Muslim Community Based Health Organizations" is a collaborative research project with Dr. Wendy Cadge of Brandeis University. Funded by the Association of Muslim Health Professionals, this study will begin in December 2006. The goals are to record various institutional histories, best practices, and the integration of Muslim identity and public health practice, through examining the emergence of Muslim- initiated health clinics in four US cities.

Future research directions include studies on the impact of race, ethnicity, language, and immigration status on the healthcare needs and healing strategies of local Muslim groups; and studies on the cultural and religious construction of mental health in local Muslim communities.

Dr. Laird's previous PP research included directing Evergreen State College student projects aimed at mapping minority religious communities in Western Washington. This research led to the publication of the chapter, "Religions of the Pacific Rim in the Pacific Northwest," in Religion and Public Life in the Pacific Northwest: the "None" Zone, Patricia O'Connell Killen and Mark Silk, eds., Religion by Region Series, vol. 1. (Walnut Creek, CA: Alta Mira Press, 2004).