Behind the Masjid Walls: A community-centered study to assess Muslim youth mental health needs in Greater Los Angeles” (co-led by Ragda Izar, MD and Afsara Haque, MD) aims to assess attitudes and knowledge of mental health topics in transitional age Muslims (15-26 years) in the Greater Los Angeles area. We chose to address the needs of transitional-age youth due to potentially erratic and inconsistent psychosocial supports during this stage of development, which is often marred by Islamophobia. As PIs, our identities as Muslim women from diverse ethnic backgrounds will help us to build connections and trust among communities. Our project will also purposely recruit participants from populations that have historically been excluded from research (African American Muslims and refugee Muslims). This assessment will be the first of its kind to our knowledge and will eventually serve as a springboard for creating psychosocial interventions specific to young LA Muslims. Future directions will include incorporating our findings from this study to implement mental health programming for this community, especially as it relates to suicide prevention.

Bio:
Dr. Nawaz is thrilled to be a first-year child and adolescent psychiatry fellow physician at UCLA. She completed her general psychiatry residency training in June 2024 at the University of Utah, where she served as Global Health and Women’s Health Chief Resident. Prior to this, she completed her medical education at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, where she was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. Over the course of her education and training, Dr. Nawaz has started multiple nonprofits, consulted for larger organizations, and even facilitated a roundtable with President Bill Clinton to promote diversity and equity. Some of her greatest professional passions include mental health equity and trauma informed care. Dr. Nawaz is honored and grateful to receive the PDAC Anti-Racist and Mental Health Seed Grant to fund her Muslim mental health research, about which she is so passionate.