Table 3.
Illustrative Quotes relating to Healthcare Accommodations
| Healthcare Accommodation Requested | Theme | Quotes |
|---|---|---|
| Gender-concordant care | Influences healthcare-seeking patterns | Then they are hesitant or they have to think twice about their medical care because there is no privacy for them (when gender-concordant care is not possible) |
| When I had my children…I had a terrible experience…where I was just constantly yelling at people to get out (opposite gender) but the second one was much better because the nurses actually respected me and they put a sign on the door (stating) please knock (before you enter) | ||
| If somebody gets put in that position where there isn’t privacy to make them comfortable, when they get sick they are hesitant to be put in the same spot where they were violated. They have to try to…heal themselves or… they try to postpone (going to the doctor) | ||
| Is part of a concern for maintaining privacy | (There is) unnecessary walking in and out of patient rooms by staff. Especially those who have no business you know | |
| …you keep your privacy at a maximum. And sometimes I like (a) sign (that says), please knock before you enter, please no male doctor, no male nurses | ||
| Is related to modesty | If we have the gowns and we’re not wearing hijab (Muslim headscarf) and laying down on the bed and… the male nurses come in to check you, where is the gown…they put the IV or check your stomach or something so the gown goes up | |
| I said, don’t open the curtain, speak to me from behind the curtain and I could feel his (the doctor’s) tone so angry… I said, you can talk to me, I can talk to you, you don’t need to see me. I don’t want any male in here. I'm all exposed | ||
| Halal food | Is better for health | It has to be slaughtered halal…that’s got to be the best food source |
| A lack of access to halal food causes frustration | I asked them to bring me something to eat. They brought me some gelatin …. I was just asking (for something else), and they were rude | |
| Every time I ask for halal food, oh, we have vegetarian…It would be nice to have a halal steak or chicken….I mean everybody else gets meat. Except us. We always get vegetarian | ||
| Neutral space for prayer | A lack of space causes discomfort | Sometimes, they make you sit in the room for a long time waiting, right? So I pray, but I was hoping that they would understand, so even if they walked in they should know why—what I'm doing |
| One thing I say is that [we go] to the chapel or we don’t feel comfortable praying in there | ||
| At (local hospital) they have a prayer room, a chapel room. It was originally for Christians, then they made it accessible for everybody else. But it wasn’t established (with)…a qibla (an marking/ornament pointing towards Mecca to indicate direction of prayer for Muslims) |