Mixed methods evaluation of clients’ experiences with a multi-component salon-based health promotion intervention: BELONG Study

Problem

Women from ethnic minority and socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds have a disproportionally higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and risk factors, and are less likely to access health screening. Hairdressing salons are trusted community assets, where projects with hairdressing and beauty salons have been successfully used for cardiovascular health promotion training in the United States but not in the UK to date.

Approach

The BEauty and health community LOuNGes (BELONG) study is exploring the feasibility of recruiting, training and retaining hairdressers in salons, supported by healthcare professionals at local GP practices in a novel health delivery partnership, to engage in health conversations that promote the uptake of NHS Health Checks in women in ethnically diverse neighbourhoods. Mixed methods evaluation will be carried out using pre-and post-questionnaires and focus groups/interviews. I. Pre & post-intervention-questionnaires will collect information on client’s experiences with NHS health check; post-intervention questionnaires will also ask about client’s interactions with health promotion information (e.g., health conversations, printed and digital educational materials). Clients will be purposively sampled from the post-intervention survey to represent a spread of ethnicity, age, and whether they had previously had an NHS Health Check before the intervention. II. We aim to recruit at least four clients from each salon (n=12) for the focus groups/interviews which will explore the clients’ prior experiences of interacting with health care services as well as their engagements with the intervention. Consent for the research staff to contact clients for focus groups/ interviews will be collected when consent is obtained for the pre- and post- surveys These discussions will take place at a location of the client’s choosing or remotely. Data from surveys will be analysed descriptively. Data from focus groups/interviews will be analysed using thematic analysis; a foundational analytic method in qualitative research that supports the identification, analysing and reporting of patterns (themes) within data.

Findings

We will report on the views and experiences of participating clients, examining their perceptions of cultural safety, competing priorities, engagement with healthcare services, and other practical issues that could affect the sustainability of this approach. The results will highlight the key barriers and enablers for clients to engage with a culturally accessible CVD prevention service model.

Consequences

Establishing partnerships between health and community systems provides the potential for effective, equitable and efficient services that benefit patient access. Hairdressing salons are a powerful community asset that could facilitate CVD prevention services for women from ethnic minorities who are socioeconomically disadvantaged. Understanding the factors that may affect clients’ willingness to engage in this model of healthcare delivery is also pertinent to understanding successful healthcare provision.