Welcome
The Crescent of Care (COCM©) is a culture-specific nursing model to guide the care of Arab Muslim patients. Developed from ethnographic research on Arab Muslim nurses’ caring models, COCM© enables nurses of diverse cultural backgrounds to provide family centered care within the Arab Muslim spiritual-cultural framework.
Since the small beginnings in 2009, we have shared our experiences in developing the Crescent of Care nursing model (COCM©) on various national and international platforms. We were amazed at the interest within Saudi Arabia and the Middle East (and internationally) for the applicability of the model, not only within the Middle East context, but in diverse settings in caring for Arab Muslim patients, or Muslim patients of diverse cultures.
The Crescent of Care Nursing Model
The COCM© is patient-family caring model focused on meeting the holistic needs of the patient. The aim of nursing care is to restore the health of the patient, where health is defined as complete physical, psychological, social and spiritual well-being.
The patient and family are in the center of the model as the focus of care. This patient-family caring model reflects the cultural importance of family in Arab culture and is distinct from Western derived nursing models that focus on caring for individual patients.
Central to determining the holistic needs of the patient and family is an understanding of the cultural and spiritual values and beliefs about health, illness and healing. The COCM© identifies the values that impact on the care of the patient, in particular related to health meanings of the patient and professional nursing care: Spiritual values (derived from Islam); Cultural values (beliefs from the Arab cultural worldview); and Professional values (values and standards arising from the nursing profession).