Assessing and promoting physical activity in African American barbershops: results of the FITStop pilot study

This study assessed the feasibility of recruiting African American men in barbershops, assessing their physical activity, conducting physical measurements, and gauging their interest in barbershop-based health research. The authors recruited African American shop owners (n = 4), barbers (n = 6), and customers (n = 90) from four barbershops in Raleigh and Durham, North Carolina, during 2009. The participation levels were high among owners (100%), barbers (67%), and customers (81%). In addition to completing a self-administered survey, 57% (51/90) of the customers completed physical measurements. According to self-reported data, 34% (30/88) of the customers met national physical activity recommendations within the last week. Customers expressed moderately high interest in learning more about health at barbershops and joining a barbershop-based physical activity contest. The estimated recruiting cost per customer was $105.92. Barbershops offer an effective setting for recruiting African American men and conducting physical measurements as well as an interesting possible location for conducting future interventions.