The first healthcare facility-laundered hijab approved for use in sterile settings. For patients, surgeons, nurses, surgical techs, and everyone involved in healthcare
Comfortable
Designed to decrease barriers and promote comfort for Muslim women in healthcare settings.
Medical Wear
Elevating healthcare fashion with functionality for professionals who prioritize both well-being and style.
Sustainable
Healthcare attire that ensures a positive impact on both individuals and the planet.
Our Vision
At Shifa Wear, we believe in the healing power of inclusivity. Shifa means “healing” in Arabic. As healthcare providers ourselves, we understand the unique challenges that Muslim women face in medical settings. That’s why we’ve created a reusable, health care facility laundered hijab (religious headscarf) that is designed to decrease barriers and promote comfort for Muslim women in healthcare environments. This includes physicians, providers, trainees, nurses, scrub techs, and patients.
Co-founder Dr. Rajjoub
Wearing our facility laundered hijab at the University of Minnesota.
Our hijab is the first of its kind, made of tightly woven rayon and spandex, designed to be low-linting. It is available in one size fits all, and can be worn in designated areas in hospitals, including sterile settings like the operating room.
Facility Laundered Hijab
Stylish, light weight, breathable fabric fits the majority of faces. Low-linting and designed to be facility laundered.
The Data
In the era of diversity, equity, and inclusion, it is important to take into consideration challenges faced by religious and cultural dress codes that affect wellness in the workplace. We performed the largest US-based study examining hijab wearing female physicians' and medical students' experiences wearing hijab in the operating room (in press).
75 participants: 45 surgeons, and 30 medical students
Due to negative experiences, 33% of surgeons and 26.7% of medical students remove their hijab in the operating room
93% have never considered removing their hijab outside of the operating room.
>50% of respondents are unsatisfied with their current degree of coverage of hair, neck and arm in the operating room.
Issues related to hijab impacted 16% of physicians' and 17% of medical students' choice of specialty.
69% of surgeons and 92% of medical students were challenged or experienced negative comments regarding the sterility of their hijab.
Our study shed light on the barriers that hijab-wearing women face in the operating room, and the significant dissatisfaction with current options.
In an effort to decrease challenges, we developed multiple prototypes and experiment with a variety of materials. We developed our current solution in the form of a health care facility laundered hijab prototype that was implemented at the University of Minnesota Surgery Center. (Survey was performed before and after the implementation and results are as presented below.)
On a scale of 1-5, how satisfied are you with the use of this Hijab?
How much does the availability of this Hijab improve your operating room experience?
Is the amount of hair, scalp, neck and chest coverage provided by this hijab satisfactory for your needs? 100%!
Do you prefer the use of this reusable cloth hijab, over a disposable operating room scrub cap? 100%!
Would you recommend the use of this cloth hijab to others? 100%!