Stylists as Lay Health Educators: A Qualitative Process Evaluation of The Speak UP! Salon Project

Beauty salons are unique and effective settings to provide community-based health education. Viewed as natural helpers by their community, stylists can serve as a bridge to deliver targeted health messages. The Speak UP! Salon Project (part of the Iowa Initiative to Reduce Unintended Pregnancies) trained hair stylists from nine intervention counties to deliver five key messages related to reducing unintended pregnancy to their clients in the 18-30 target age range. The project ran 3 years (2009-2011). Midway, stylist focus groups were held to 1) determine strengths and weaknesses in the implementation process and 2) consider the stylists' reflections on their role as lay health educators. Forty-seven of 93 stylists (50.5%) attended one of eleven focus groups. Thirty-two of 54 participating salons (59.3%) were represented. Discussions followed a guidebook and included questions about their experiences with the Speak UP! Salon Project, the frequency and content of conversations they had with clients related to unintended pregnancy and birth control, their thoughts on project materials, their clients' reactions to the project, and reflections on their role as lay health educators. Using Krueger's methodology, a systematic analysis was completed on transcripts of the focus groups. Five themes emerged: client reactions to the project, approaches to message delivery, attempts at consistent conversations, benefits stylists derived from the project, and ripple effects (unanticipated outcomes of the project). Findings indicate that stylists' efforts reached individuals far beyond the target audience. Strategies for recruiting salons and overcoming communication barriers will also be discussed.