Arab Americans’ Cultural Beliefs of Diabetes

This chapter discusses the results from the participant observation and semi-structured and structured interviews. It outlines the first stage of building the cultural beliefs model of diabetes. This chapter answers the following questions from the Arab American point of view: (a) What are the causes of diabetes; (b) what are the symptoms of diabetes; and (c) what are the treatments of diabetes? In addition, this chapter will include issues related to who is susceptible to diabetes? the fear of having diabetes, the severity of diabetes, the experience of fasting in Ramadan with diabetes, the role of family in providing care, diabetes health-seeking behaviors, and diabetes healthcare access.