Objective: This qualitative research aimed to fill a gap in literature by determining the feasibility of implementing early childhood mental health tools into Black/African American barbershops and beauty salons in three Boston neighborhoods: Dorchester, Mattapan, or Roxbury.
Methods: Qualitative data collection included key informant interviews with two African American pediatric mental health clinicians who worked with children and families that lived in Mattapan, Dorchester, and/or Roxbury neighborhoods (n=2), a barber who worked in Mattapan (n=1), and a focus group of an active parent council hosted by the city of Boston (n=9). Data was analyzed using descriptive and simultaneous coding methods and reviewed to identify key themes.
Results: Participants shared that a parent-centered intervention would be most effective and feasible in a barbershop or beauty salon venue. This intervention should address the following challenges: parental stress (individual and social), parental isolation, and resource access and support.
Conclusion: Barbershops and beauty salons may be a feasible health promotion site for early childhood mental health by targeting parents of young children.
