Barbers Against Prostate Cancer

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The primary goal of this transdisciplinary and collaborative research pilot study is to evaluate the feasibility of the barbershop as a communication channel for disseminating prostate cancer information and awareness for African American men over 40 years of age. This project meets NCI's objective for pilot projects in community-based participatory research (CBPR) to reduce health disparities and to develop effective community-based participatory interventions to reduce cancer health disparities that can be employed nationwide. The primary aims are to: 1) assess the feasibility of using barbershops to disseminate culturally and literacy relevant prostate cancer health messages; 2) provide systematic research training and evaluative workshops to a cadre of African American barbers to provide them with the skills to deliver culturally appropriate cancer education in the community setting grounded in the principles of CBPR; and 3) evaluate the effectiveness of the adapted Prostate Cancer Education Toolbox kit in the delivery of culturally, linguistically, and literacy relevant prostate cancer education to African American men. In partnership with Community Health Advocacy Partnership, our community collaborator, this pilot study will be conducted in three sequential phases. In Phase I, we will conduct qualitative formative research to: 1) adapt materials from the Toolbox, and 2) conduct pre-testing iterations of the educational materials, 3) consult with medical experts on the Toolbox content. In Phase II, we will: 1) further adapt the promotional materials for the Barber Health Advisors (BHAs) training, 2) train the BHAs, and 3) evaluate the training program. In Phase III, we will 1) evaluate the feasibility and the acceptability of the adapted Toolbox, 2) assess the effectiveness of BHAs, and 3) assess the utility of using barbers to disseminate prostate cancer health messages. The study employs primarily qualitative methods which includes focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and semi-structured questionnaires. Long-term, the findings from this study will be used to develop a research agenda focused on increasing the robustness of the infrastructure and communication venues for community-based cancer education among diverse audiences. The underlying philosophy of this community- based pilot project is to address the broader focus of public health, and identify effective dissemination channels for the delivery of cancer information.