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Keywords

Early Childhood Mental Health; Barbershop; Beauty Salon; Black American; African American; Parent; Intervention

Disciplines

Maternal and Child Health | Medicine and Health Sciences | Public Health | Women's Health

Abstract

Objective: This qualitative research aimed to fill a gap in literature by determining the feasibility of implementing early childhood mental health tools into Black/African American barbershops and beauty salons in three Boston neighborhoods: Dorchester, Mattapan, or Roxbury.

Methods: Qualitative data collection included key informant interviews with two African American pediatric mental health clinicians who worked with children and families that lived in Mattapan, Dorchester, and/or Roxbury neighborhoods (n=2), a barber who worked in Mattapan (n=1), and a focus group of an active parent council hosted by the city of Boston (n=9). Data was analyzed using descriptive and simultaneous coding methods and reviewed to identify key themes.

Results: Participants shared that a parent-centered intervention would be most effective and feasible in a barbershop or beauty salon venue. This intervention should address the following challenges: parental stress (individual and social), parental isolation, and resource access and support.

Conclusion: Barbershops and beauty salons may be a feasible health promotion site for early childhood mental health by targeting parents of young children.


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