Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #112792

John Rose, MA¹, Laura Linnan, ScD², Veronica L. Carlisle, MPH³, Kacey Hanson, MPH³, Alice Ammerman, DrPH, RD⁴, and Kelly Evenson, PhD⁵. (1) Dept of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB #7440, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7440, 919 843-8044, jmrose@email.unc.edu, (2) Dept. of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of North Carolina - CH, CB #7440, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, (3) Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, CB #7440, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7440, (4) Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1700 Airport Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, (5) Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Bank of America Plaza, Suite 306, 137 East Franklin St., Chapel Hill, NC 27514

The North Carolina BEAUTY and Health Project is a 4-yr RCT that partners with African American beauty salon owners and their licensed cosmetologists to test different methods of delivering cancer prevention messages to their customers. This paper reviews the baseline results from in-person interviews with 40 salon owners (100% response rate) conducted by trained project staff. Results reveal that on average, participating salons were in business 10.3 years; in their current locations for 6.6 years; had an average of 3 employees who worked in the salon for 5.9 years. Participating owners report they are in excellent/very good health (47%), eat at least 5 servings of fruit/vegetables per day (37.5%), get moderate PA (40%), are non-smokers (10%), and report being in the salon daily (63%). Health topics of greatest interest to salon owners include: reducing/avoiding cancer, healthy eating, achieving/maintaining a healthy weight, and reducing stress. Seventy-eight percent of salons provide food/beverages for customers and 85% had a microwave available. Salon owners believe that participating in the BEAUTY Project will enhance future business (48%); improve salon reputation in the community (68%); and, would recommend participation in a study like the BEAUTY Project to other salon owners (93%). Results contribute to the growing evidence that beauty salons are a promising place for promoting health and identify important leverage points for intervening to prevent cancer among customers and salon owners.

Learning Objectives: After attending this session, participants will be able to

• Describe a typical salon owner and describe three ways that the salon owner can promote health in her salon
• Identify at least three health topics of interest to salon owners
• Describe at least two features of the salon environment that might be used to support health

Keywords: Community-Based Partnership, Health Education Strategies

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.