Zaidat Ibrahim
Indiana University Bloomington
zaibrahi@iu.edu
Bio
Zaidat is a PhD candidate in Informatics (Health) at Indiana University, Bloomington, expecting to graduate in May 2025. She focuses on women’s health and HCI within religious groups. Her work has been published at the top conference in her field (the ACM SIGCHI conference) and has received honorable mention recognition (awarded to papers recognized by her peers to be in the top 5% of accepted papers). Currently, Zaidat is conducting her second internship at Microsoft Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Zaidat holds a master’s in public health from UC Berkeley and a Bachelor’s in Biochemistry from Mount Holyoke College. Her diverse work experience spans biotech (Genentech), and clinical care (Massachusetts General Hospital). She has been recognized as a Mastercard, Grace Hopper, ACM-W, and DigiStar Scholar. In her spare time, she volunteers with NaijaCoders, a summer camp focused on helping underserved Nigerian high schoolers prepare for college admissions.
Areas of Research
- Information and System Science
Menstrual Health Tracking and Faith: The Journey of a Menstruating Muslim
Personal Informatics tools, particularly menstrual tracking technologies, have become increasingly prevalent, enabling individuals to collect and analyze personal health data for meaningful self-insights. However, there is a significant gap in research addressing self-tracking practices that integrate both health and religious well-being. In my work, I investigate how Muslim women utilize menstrual tracking tools to navigate the intersection of health management and faith adherence. My research offers three key contributions: First, I examine how religious values are inculcated when preparing for menarche (occurrence of first menstruation), highlighting how faith-based teachings influence initial understandings of menstruation. Second, I explore the concurrent use of menstrual and religious tracking practices, identifying the limitations and challenges present in current tracking technologies used to support comprehensive well-being. Third, I present design implications aimed at enhancing menstrual tracking tools to provide a more holistic and faith-sensitive experience for Muslim women. This work underscores the importance of taking culturally sensitive and religiously inclusive approaches to the design and development of personal health technologies.