Amanda Wilde (Host): Welcome to UAMS Health Talk, a podcast from University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. I'm Amanda Wilde. Barbershops are famous as community hubs, but they are also changing how men think about their health. Learn how the UAMS Barbershop Talk Program uses trusted neighborhood barbershops to boost honest conversations about men's health with Dr. Tiffany Haynes, Associate Professor at UAMS and principal investigator for the Barbershop Talk Project. Welcome, Dr. Haynes.

Tiffany Haynes, PhD: Thank you so much for having me

Host: Well, let's get down to the description of this program. What is UAMS Barbershop Talk?

Tiffany Haynes, PhD: Barbershop Talk started off as a research project, where we are partnering with barbers across our state to have conversations about men's health, but especially about how drinking can impact men's health. So, we have community health workers who go into a shop. They are able to talk with the barber, learn more about that shop, and then they talk to men who are in the shop, and they just have conversations about, "How is your health going? You know, how is your social support? How is your drinking going? And oh, by the way, did you know that drinking can impact your health in these following ways?" So, it's really just starting that conversation and raising awareness about the role that alcohol use can have in health, and then also having resources to be able to connect them to, after that conversation ends.

Host: Well, Dr. Haynes, why are barbershops such an important and effective place to talk about men's health and alcohol use?

Tiffany Haynes, PhD: You know, when we talk to our barber partners, they say, "You know, we have been around and talking about health since the very beginning." So, the whole barber pole being red, white, and blue, the red was about blood because they were doing bloodletting and dental work in the barbershop. So, they've been a part of the health team since they started. So, this is kind of a natural, discussion for them. But now, they have become really a cornerstone in a lot of communities.

So, Arkansas is a predominantly rural state. And when we talk about getting people connected to healthcare, there may not be a clinic in your community. There may not be substance use clinics in your community. But there's probably going to be a few barbershops. And so, when we're having that conversation in barbershops, it increases the access, but also it increases the trust. Because, as one of our barbers said, "Our customers trust us. They've been coming to us since they were little. Their kids come to us. Their cousins come to us. So, we're a part of their community. They see us, they trust us." And so when that conversation is in a trusted space and is in a place where they can easily access, we're more likely to reach men.

Host: Can anyone participate in Barbershop Talk?

Tiffany Haynes, PhD: Absolutely. So, we just encourage barbers who are in the state of Arkansas to contact us on our social media page @UAMSBarbershop Talk, and we can connect with them and get them started on having someone come into their shop.

Host: And anyone in the community can stop in the barbershop as well.

Tiffany Haynes, PhD: Absolutely. And so, we often have that. You don't have to necessarily be a customer. So if you know that we are there, you can talk. So we may have, you know, that guy that's in the waiting room and he'll say, "Hey, my cousin is down the street. Can I call them and have them come and talk to you about drinking?" And so, that sometimes happens. You don't have to be a customer. You don't even have to know that barber. But if we're in the shop, we're going to talk to anybody who's there.

Host: So if you want to get connected with Barbershop Talk, you really can just walk in.

Tiffany Haynes, PhD: You can just walk in. Make sure we're there. We're not there all the time, so we have certain days, but we usually publicize that to the barber and the community about when we're there. But you can just walk in and have that conversation with us. And so, again, it's us trying to make health more accessible. We're not asking you to come to us on the campus, but we're coming to where you are.

Host: How long have you been doing the program and what results have you seen?

Tiffany Haynes, PhD: So, we got our initial grant funding in, like, 2021, but we actually started going out into the shops in 2023. And so, we've seen a lot of just barbers and men really taking to this being a model that they enjoy. So, we've been in 61 shops so far across the state. We screened about 800 men, and 611 of them actually enrolled in the study. So, these are, you know, especially when we're talking about men who may be reluctant to talk about health, but also to be in a research study, these numbers are pretty great.

And so, after we finish, we start talking to our barbers about, you know, next steps, and they're like, "Oh, no, we want you to keep coming. We want you to talk about cancer. We want you to talk about these other health conditions that we're having." So, we have built trust in the community with our barbers. They are interested in having more conversations about health. Several of them have started a health corner in their shop where they have a blood pressure cuff, where they have stress management tools that are there. So, they're really becoming health and wellness ambassadors in our community. And that's all of a result of us kind of taking health to their shops

Host: That's truly remarkable. How can people learn more or stay connected with Barbershop Talk? And also, what else would you like our listeners to know before we wrap up?

Tiffany Haynes, PhD: The best way to keep in contact with us is on social media. So, we're on Facebook and Instagram @UAMSBarbershopTalk, and you can like or follow us on either one of those pages. And we try to keep it updated as much as possible about what things are going on for our project and in our community. We also have a website. If you go to the UAMS, publichealth.uams.edu, and look at current projects, our Barbershop Talk project is listed there as well. And so, those are the easiest ways to kind of keep going with what we're doing.

And I think, you know, just before we wrap up, I just love for our listeners to know that this is really a new way of changing how we do health and healthcare here in the state of Arkansas.

So for so long, you know, we build it, they come. You know, we build a clinic, and we hope that they come. And we know that when we're talking to men especially, they may not come. They have a lot of stress on them. They have a lot of things that they're trying to do. They're trying to be a provider. They're trying to take care of kids and work and all the things. ANdntheir health goes to the bottom of the list. And so, this opportunity that we have to change that paradigm where we're not asking you to come to us, we're coming to them, we're seeing is actually building trust. And the more trust we build, the more access people have to healthcare that we build, the better health outcomes that we have across the state.

So, if there are people who are listening who are interested in the program, I hope that they check us out. But also, if there are other healthcare providers who want to know how do we really improve health, it may be by getting out of the clinics and actually going into the communities where people live, play and work.

Host: Dr. Tiffany Haynes, thank you so much for your work on these innovative and effective community programs that really make healthcare accessible.

Tiffany Haynes, PhD: Thank you. It's actually been one of the best things that I get to do with my day is working in barbershops, so I'm really happy I'm a part of this project.

Host: People who want to learn more can find UAMS Barbershop Talk on Facebook and Instagram. You can email, barbershoptalk@uams.edu or text 501-523-1587. Thanks for listening to UAMS Health Talk, a podcast from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.