One promising approach for culturally tailored and place-based approaches to reduce health inequities is to begin with shared, trusted community spaces. Historians have documented the powerful influence of barbers/stylists as influencers of behavior and beacons of trust. Research has demonstrated that barbershops/salons can indeed be mobilized as venues for the delivery of health promotion and disease prevention services designed to eliminate health disparities. This session will describe the implementation of successful health promotion interventions that have addressed disparities in a range of critical health domains, from vaccines to diabetes prevention. Key contributors to the success of such initiatives have been human-centered design to enable co-creation and building on the trust that barbers and stylists have as hyperlocal community influencers by empowering them to be agents of change. Implications for identifying and activating other trusted community influencers will be discussed.
Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
1. Describe how barbers and stylists have been activated as change agents to promote health from behind their chairs.
2. Identify how to build the power of building on the trust of hyperlocal influencers to promote health and well-being.
3. Explain how human-centered design principles can be used to inform initiatives implemented by trusted hyperlocal influencers. 1 ADV CECH Available