Who are the African American men recruited in Barbershop studies?

Background: Reaching and engaging African American (AA) men in research has proven difficult. This presentation examines the reach and representativeness of AA men recruited into 3 barbershop-based health promotion interventions studies in North Carolina.

Methods: Baseline characteristics were assessed for AA men recruited into three separate barbershop-based intervention studies: FITShop (promote physical activity); TRIM (promote informed decision making about cancer screening) and CUTS (promote awareness/use of the cancer information phoneline).  

Results: Across interventions, 1124 men were enrolled. Average age was 35 (11.2); 58% were unmarried; 77% were employed. The men ranged in education from a few (6%) that did not finish high school, but most finished(93%) at least high school and an additional 26% had at least a Bachelor’s degree. Overall 44% reported very good/excellent health and 70% had health insurance. Most of the men were overweight (36%) or obese (41%), and 23% of the entire sample were current smokers. In addition, 34% attended church weekly and 45% visited the barbershop weekly. Compared to statewide estimates, fewer men were unmarried (58% vs 64.5%), had seen a health provider in the last year (54% vs. 76.4%), more completed High School (93% vs. 77.7%) and were overweight/obese (88% vs. 69.7%).

Conclusion: This study demonstrated an ability to reach large numbers of AA men in barbershops. Sample characteristics were reflective of statewide populations on age, education, risk factors (smoking and obese), and in some instances more at-risk populations. Additional studies that include barbershop-based samples in other regions other than North Carolina could provide more evidence of the capacity to reach large representative samples of AA men in other regions and parts of the US.