News | Health & Safety
11 Jul 2025 15:19
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Health & Safety

    Doctors face Islamophobia in Australian healthcare 'crisis', research shows

    A major study reveals concerning levels of Islamophobia and discrimination experienced by Muslim healthcare professionals in Australia. Experts are calling it a hidden crisis.


    Noor Suhana Mohd went straight into "fight or flight mode" after a patient got angry and hurled racial and Islamophobic slurs at her.

    "'I don't have to listen to a Muslim', he said to me," Dr Mohd told the ABC.

    After the incident, she froze. 

    "I was scared."

    "I wasn't sure what he was going to do. I [eventually] stood up and asked him to leave the consultation."

    It happened almost a decade ago when Dr Mohd was in her first year of training as a general practitioner but the experience stayed with her.

    It had shaken her confidence and affected her mental health, she said.

    A survey has found Dr Mohd was not alone. 

    Hidden crisis

    Three in four Muslim healthcare workers surveyed had faced discrimination for their religious beliefs, the study found.

    Researchers said the study highlighted a "hidden crisis" in the Australian healthcare workforce.

    The research, led by academics from Federation University Australia, the University of Sydney, the University of Notre Dame Australia, and Western Sydney University, in partnership with the Australian Islamic Medical Association, was conducted in 2024 as an anonymous cross-sectional study.

    A total of 358 healthcare professionals participated across the country. Of those, 85 per cent were Muslim, and 83 per cent identified as a member of a culturally and linguistically diverse community.

    Federation University Australia Professor Dr Muhammad Aziz Rahman, one of the academics who led the research, said it was one of the first Australian studies to systematically explore how Islamophobia, religious discrimination, and cultural bias affected those working in the healthcare system.

    "This research clearly shows that Islamophobia and discrimination are experienced by healthcare workers regardless of their faith or background," Professor Rahman said.

    "But Muslims, especially from CALD communities, are disproportionately impacted, and their well-being is at stake," Professor Rahman said."There must not be any discrimination or prejudice due to any religious identity, not only in Islam. Such issues are not acceptable for any individual, community, or profession, let alone healthcare professionals," he said.

    The study showed Muslim women had been some of the most impacted by Islamophobia. The study showed female Muslim professionals faced "additional layers of discrimination related to gender, religious identity, and physical appearance".

    Dr Mohd, who is also vice president of the Australian Islamic Medical Association said, she's not surprised by the study's findings.

    She believed if more doctors had been surveyed, the problem with discrimination in the sector might be even higher.

    "Being a visibly Muslim woman in healthcare means I'm constantly navigating judgment sometimes from patients, sometimes from peers," Dr Mohd said.

    "I face assumptions about my skills and my right to be in the room. And yet, women like me are often the most trusted by patients who've been marginalised themselves," she said.

    The association said this discrimination also threatened healthcare services, particularly in regional and remote communities where Muslim healthcare professionals might be among the few or only providers. 

    Paediatric endocrinologist Associate Professor Justin Brown warned: "If we lose these dedicated professionals to burnout, discrimination, or disengagement, the impact will be felt most by patients in the areas with the fewest healthcare options." 

    The association, which represents more than 1,000 members, said there had been a sharp increase in Islamophobia in the wake of recent geopolitical events, particularly the ongoing conflict in Gaza. 

    Islamophobia in Australia had increased in assaults, abuse and threats based on reports to the Islamophobia Register Australia between January 2023 and November 2024.

    According to a March report by the Register, Muslim women and girls were targeted in 60 per cent of physical assaults, 79 per cent of verbal assaults and all spitting incidents — almost all of which were committed by men.

    That's more than double the incidents when compared to previous reporting period averages, according to the report.

    'We must act now'

    Dr Mohd said doctors didn't need to face Islamophobia on the job.

    "We’re here to treat you, and we don’t discriminate. So why should we face discrimination?" she said.

    She said it was important to raise awareness and offer confidential mental health support to healthcare workers facing these issues who might be too afraid to speak up due to stigma.

    "Some may be afraid to because of repercussions and may not speak up about their experiences," she said.

    The authors of the study have urged healthcare leaders, hospital administrators, and policymakers to make necessary changes from within the industry.

    Professor Rahman said the health sector must act now.

    "If nothing is done, we will be posing the risks of having hatred and disharmony in this multicultural society," Professor Rahman said.

    "Healthcare professionals will not be able to utilise their full potential to succeed, grow in his/her workplace and the quality of service delivery to patients may be impacted."


    ABC




    © 2025 ABC Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved

     Other Health & Safety News
     11 Jul: Health New Zealand's promoting a wide range of opportunities for graduate registered nurses
     11 Jul: Concern for our hospitals' preparedness, if another mass casualty event were to happen
     10 Jul: Health experts warn vaccine rates need to increase if New Zealand wants to avoid a measles outbreak
     09 Jul: The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation says changes to asthma inhaler access - is a major step forward
     09 Jul: Fewer pharmacy visits are on the horizon for New Zealanders needing inhalers and IUDs from next month
     09 Jul: Complaints about ambulance services in Northland's Hokianga
     08 Jul: Health New Zealand's now backtracked on a proposal to trial using maternity overflow at Wellington Hospital - for ED patients
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Patrick Tuipulotu can't wait to lock down alongside Fabian Holland in the All Blacks scrum, in tomorrow's second test against France in Wellington More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    People hoping to get their hands on cheaper butter, via fundraisers, may have to wait a little longer More...



     Today's News

    Entertainment:
    Whoopi Goldberg has overcome her fear of flying 15:00

    Rugby League:
    Iconic New Zealand rugby league player Kieran Foran's reportedly calling time on his decorated 17-year pro career 14:57

    Rugby:
    Patrick Tuipulotu can't wait to lock down alongside Fabian Holland in the All Blacks scrum, in tomorrow's second test against France in Wellington 14:47

    International:
    Plot to kidnap London restaurant owner raises alarm about growing Russian sabotage 14:17

    Law and Order:
    A mentally ill Auckland man who reported seeing visions of the devil before he fatally stabbed a stranger, will be held indefinitely at a lockdown psychiatric facility 14:07

    Soccer:
    The Wellington Phoenix women have parted ways with their foundation fullback 13:47

    Netball:
    The Silver Ferns physio is backing the ANZ Premiership umpires in their policing of dangerous contact 13:27

    Law and Order:
    Two people have pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of a six year old child, in Wellington, in 2023 13:07

    International:
    Michael Storer third in Tour de France stage six, Tadej Pogacar gives up yellow jersey 13:07

    Business:
    People hoping to get their hands on cheaper butter, via fundraisers, may have to wait a little longer 13:07


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd