The Barbershop-Beauty Shop Project: Creating Healthcare Advocates for Rural Georgia
Abstract
Background:
Though there is evidence of utilizing workers in salons, shops, and spas to be healthcare advocates for their customers, there is currently no replicable and adaptable model that can be used in rural Georgia. In rural communities, beauty salons and barber shops serve as influential institutions for communities. They are uniquely positioned to influence the health of their clients by tapping into health education and their position as a community space. In rural areas, unprecedented potential can be unlocked due to the emotional connections and vulnerability clients have with their stylist.
Methods:
This project focuses on implementing screenings, education, and intervention within beauty salons and barbershops that are located in rural communities of Georgia. This project is a preliminary model that screens and provides education material for hypertension, smoking, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), through the use of a healthcare cart. For this project, the primary factors that are being studied are utilization, logistics, and perception. Surveys will be administered to salon and shop owners that will evaluate these primary factors.
Anticipated Results:
Surveys will be administered in March of 2023 and results will be evaluated in April 2023. Results will be shared in the final poster and used to refine the program to make it replicable and applicable for other rural communities across Georgia.
Conclusion:
The development of this community-engaged program will investigate whether providing healthcare products, health education materials, and promoting healthcare literacy in barbershops and beauty salons are beneficial to the rural communities in Georgia. The Barbershop/Beauty Shop Program will also determine if similar interventions are feasible and will be utilized in community spaces across rural Georgia.
Keywords
Rural Health, Barbershop, Beauty Salon, Rural Communities, Health Promotion, Program Evaluation, Health Literacy
The Barbershop-Beauty Shop Project: Creating Healthcare Advocates for Rural Georgia
Background:
Though there is evidence of utilizing workers in salons, shops, and spas to be healthcare advocates for their customers, there is currently no replicable and adaptable model that can be used in rural Georgia. In rural communities, beauty salons and barber shops serve as influential institutions for communities. They are uniquely positioned to influence the health of their clients by tapping into health education and their position as a community space. In rural areas, unprecedented potential can be unlocked due to the emotional connections and vulnerability clients have with their stylist.
Methods:
This project focuses on implementing screenings, education, and intervention within beauty salons and barbershops that are located in rural communities of Georgia. This project is a preliminary model that screens and provides education material for hypertension, smoking, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), through the use of a healthcare cart. For this project, the primary factors that are being studied are utilization, logistics, and perception. Surveys will be administered to salon and shop owners that will evaluate these primary factors.
Anticipated Results:
Surveys will be administered in March of 2023 and results will be evaluated in April 2023. Results will be shared in the final poster and used to refine the program to make it replicable and applicable for other rural communities across Georgia.
Conclusion:
The development of this community-engaged program will investigate whether providing healthcare products, health education materials, and promoting healthcare literacy in barbershops and beauty salons are beneficial to the rural communities in Georgia. The Barbershop/Beauty Shop Program will also determine if similar interventions are feasible and will be utilized in community spaces across rural Georgia.
