The impact of keeping a religious beard in the COVID-19 pandemic: an online cross-sectional survey study exploring experiences of male medical healthcare professionals

Authors

  • Amer Hamed Cardiology Consultant Stepping Hill Hospital Stockport
  • Asam Latif Senior Research Fellow School of Health Sciences Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences University of Nottingham, Nottingham
  • Mohammad Haris MRes Internal Medicine Trainee, Cardiology Blackpool Victoria Hospital
  • Sufyan Patel MPH Foundation Doctor University Hospitals of Leicester
  • Muhammad I Patel BSc Fourth year medical student University of Glasgow
  • Syed Abdur Rahman Mustafa FRCR Consultant Interventional Radiologist University Hospitals of Leicester
  • Omeair Khan Core Surgical Trainee & Honorary Clinical Teaching Fellow The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust
  • Ahmad Shoaib PG dip in research training (UK) MD Cardiology (UK) NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer Cardiology Keele University & Royal Stoke University Hospital Stoke on Trent, UK
  • Salman Waqar Academic General PractitionerUniversity of Oxford Department of Primary Care Health Sciences Woodstock Road OX2 6GG,

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31344/ijhhs.v6i1.386

Keywords:

Black Asian & Minority Ethnic (BAME), COVID-19, Fit-test, NHS

Abstract

In the UK, there has been a disproportionate impact of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on individuals from Black Asian & Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups including those working in the NHS. Many male NHS staff have been asked to remove their beards for the ‘fit test’. However this can have negative implications on their spiritual, psychological & emotional wellbeing. . This paper surveyed the responses of 469 healthcare BAME healthcare professionals (HCPs) with beards regarding the challenges they face in regard to personal protective equipment (PPE), mask fit testing and attitude of employers and colleagues. Professional discrimination through fit testing rejection, unavailability or inadequate PPE and the pressure to shave beards were reported to be unpleasant and underreported outcomes of the pandemic. NHS trusts and hospitals need to adjust their policies to ensure inclusivity in their COVID-19 arrangements.

International Journal of Human and Health Sciences Vol. 06 No. 01 January’22 Page: 113-122

Downloads

Published

2022-02-07

How to Cite

Hamed, A., Latif, A., Haris, M., Patel, S., Patel, M. I., Rahman Mustafa, S. A., … Waqar, S. (2022). The impact of keeping a religious beard in the COVID-19 pandemic: an online cross-sectional survey study exploring experiences of male medical healthcare professionals. International Journal of Human and Health Sciences (IJHHS), 6(1), 113–122. https://doi.org/10.31344/ijhhs.v6i1.386

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2022)

Section

Original Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2022 Amer Hamed, Asam Latif, Mohammad Haris, Sufyan Patel, Muhammad I Patel, Syed Abdur Rahman Mustafa, Omeair Khan, Ahmad Shoaib, Salman Waqar

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish in the International Journal of Human and Health Sciences agree to the following terms that:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant International Journal of Human and Health Sciences the right of first publication of the work.

  2. Creative Commons Licence
    Articles in International Journal of Human and Health Sciences are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License CC BY-4.0.This license permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
  3. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  4. Authors are permitted to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as greater citation of published work.

Most read articles by the same author(s)