The study involved multiple randomized barber shops in the Dallas County, TX area. The intervention group barber shops offered blood pressure screenings in addition to the barber encouraging its black male patrons to follow-up with their physician. The control group barber shops just offered blood pressure information pamphlets (probably in the waiting area).
The results: the intervention group showed better hypertension control 10 months after the intervention period as compared to the control/comparison group. Well I'll be darned, it worked!
In all honesty, I'm not surprised. Barbers are accessible. Even in a depressed economy people are getting their hair cut. We may be broke ae hell but we will not walk around poor with bad haircuts/hairstyles. Anyway, back to my point. Barbers are accessible. Doctors on the other hand may be hard to find, may have no appointments available, and are just plain expensive to talk to. Sure, pharmacists are available but pharmacists aren't gonna give you a new 'do after helping you measure your blood pressure. Secondly, barbers/hairstylists/etc are so easy to talk to. I heard once that sometimes cops will go to a murder suspect's hair salon to speak with their barber/hairstylist if the suspect made a recent visit. Why? Because patrons spill so much information about their personal lives to the people cutting/dying/perming their hair! So, yeah, it makes sense that you develop a sense of trust discussing your healthcare with your barber since you are willing to trust them with your physical appearance. Lastly, the abstract didn't mention whether there was a fee for the service but I'm going to guess that there wasn't a fee, thereby making the service a no-brainer!
I'm not gonna lie, when I first saw the article I gasped thinking this was a pretty stereotypical approach for a study to take. However, after reading it and brainstorming other populations that could benefit from similar access points, I think the authors are on to something.......
No comments:
Post a Comment