USC research lab uses barbershops to address health disparities among Black, Latino men
USC research lab uses barbershops to address health disparities among Black, Latino men
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Research from the National Institutes of Health shows Black and Latino men by as many as 8 years.
At the University of South Carolina, researchers with the Community Health Intervention Resiliency Program, or CHIRP Lab, are working to address those disparities by bringing conversations about health and wellness into a place many men already trust: the barbershop.
The effort is part of the lab’s Fade to Fitness program, which takes what organizers describe as an all-inclusive approach to mental, physical and financial health for minority men in the Midlands.
Terry Woods, a longtime community partner and participant in the program, said the barbershop offers a level of comfort that can help men begin conversations they may not otherwise have in more formal medical settings.
“The comfortability in the barbershop versus the professional care places — this is a good starter point here to get you going,” Woods said. “This is where we have these personal-private conversations that lead you to going to your doctor.”
That familiar environment is a major part of the CHIRP Lab’s approach.
Kofi Moseley-Kellum, a volunteer and empowerment coach with Fade to Fitness, said the program helps create space for men to better understand and improve their health.
“We just need to be given the tools and opportunities to do so and the space to do so,” Moseley-Kellum said. “And so that’s why Fade to Fitness is so beautiful, because it provides that safe nurturing space.”
Moseley-Kellum said the program helps bring conversations that can feel intimidating into a more natural, community-based setting.
Woods, who has worked with the program over the past four years, said one of the biggest barriers for many men is pride.
“I see it. It happens all the time,” Woods said. “When you’re dealing with men, the first obstacle is pride. And once you get across that pride factor, the relationship starts to build.”
For volunteers working with the program, Moseley-Kellum said the experience has also had a personal impact.