Are the hair products used by Black women in the Inland Empire increasing their risk for developing breast cancer? A Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Approach

Introduction

Black women (BW) have lower incidence and higher mortality rates of breast cancer (BC) compared to White women.  BW also use hair products (HP) containing hormonally-active chemicals at higher rates, and studies are beginning to link chemical ingredients found in these products to BC risk.

Purpose

A CBPR approach to exploring community concerns on the potential health risk of HP.

Methods

Southern California Inland Empire community advocacy groups collaborated with university scientists to explore emerging concerns regarding the potential health risk HP pose. Focus groups and key informant interviews conducted were triangulated by type of respondents relevant to the issue (women with and without BC, stylists, salon owners, male partners). Grounded Theory methods of coding used were facilitated by QDA-Miner.

Results

Preliminary results of over 100 participants indicate varying levels of awareness with increasing concerns on the potential risk of HP to negative health outcomes amongst BW and their partners. Hair professionals share similar concerns with the addition of incorrect application of commercially available products by women with financial limitations. Societal influences on the importance of hair to identity were a shared commonality among all study participants.

Conclusion

Breast cancer risk is a significant concern for black women and their loved ones.  As BW have different motivators around HP usage, behavior change interventions have to consider the non-separation of identity and hair for this population. Next steps include survey collection that provides a broader exploration of HP usage, hair care, health outcome risks and potential behavior modifying interventions strategies.