Implementing barbershop-based health-promotion interventions for Black men: A systematic scoping review

Health-promotion efforts among Black men in the United States have been limited in their ability to recruit, retain, and produce meaningful health-related changes. These difficulties have led to Black men being referred to as a "hard-to-reach" population-a designation that places undue blame on these men as opposed to the dissemination and implementation strategies being used by health-promotion specialists. Gender- and race-based strategies that align with the lived experiences of these men are likely to circumvent these challenges. Barbershops are cultural institutions that are uniquely positioned to promote health among Black men. There is little guidance on how to develop, implement, and evaluate barbershop-based efforts. This scoping review seeks to provide this guidance by applying the RE-AIM framework to analyze existing interventions.

Information was identified by searching the following bibliographic databases: PubMed, EMBASE PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Web of Science. A grey literature search was conducted using Web of Science and ClinicalTrials.gov. Results were uploaded to Rayyan. Each article was independently and blindly assessed by two reviewers. A third reviewer blindly resolved any discrepancies. Data were then independently extracted by the two reviewers. Discrepancies were flagged and resolved collaboratively.

Results indicate that barbershop-based health-promotion efforts that prioritize community engagement and intentional alignment to the gender- and race-based lived experiences of Black men are likely to result in satisfactory recruitment, retention, and health-related changes among these men.

More intervention efforts are needed that target young Black adults, rural Black men, mental health outcomes, and which implement peer-to-peer models. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).