Pittsburgh Health Education Program Targets African Americans Through Barbershops in ‘Medically Underserved’ Neighborhoods
NPR's "All Things Considered" on Nov. 10 included a profile of the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Minority Health, which has been recruiting local barbers to become trained public health workers and promote health education in "medically underserved neighborhoods." Center Director Dr. Stephen Thomas visits barbershops in African-American neighborhoods, which often have physician shortages, to "enlist" barbers in communicating public health messages by urging their clients to take preventive health care measures and visit physicians outside of their communities. According to Ron Peters, director of the Metro Urban Institute at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, many African Americans are "more likely" to be receptive to information that comes from someone they know than from a physician who lives outside their community. Peters added that he believes the effort will help educate residents about health issues because the information and advice is provided by "people who care, people they have a relationship with and who they see on a regular basis." He said that the "kind of intimacy" between barbers and their clients "helps to build the trust level so that people feel more comfortable talking about their health problems" (Jones, "All Things Considered," NPR, 11/10).
The full segment is available in RealPlayer Audio online.
