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Talking Health
Women often tell their hairdressers lots about what’s happening in their lives. This project in the Shire of Cardinia is building on the concept of that unique relationship between hairdresser and client to provide a setting for support and a point of referral for their clients to local community agencies.
This approach is based on research which ‘… indicates that the salon environment has the potential to reinforce health messages over time and to create healthy norms that can be reinforced within the salon setting and disseminated beyond the salon into the larger community
Talking Health aims to build community capacity and promote mental health
resilience by;
• Working in partnership with hair salons to build staff capacity to identify clients and fellow workers needs.
• Increasing awareness of mental health, grief and bereavement, family violence/relationships and other common health issues through conversations and written information from salons.
• Developing skills & confidence in hairdressers, building on active communication skills.
• Increasing knowledge of community support agencies & referral to local services.
• Establishing a system for professional debriefing and support of hairdressers faced with stories of abuse and other issues from their clients and to source additional information as required.
• Promoting the findings of the pilot as a basis for building community capacity to resolve health issues.
Collaborative partnerships were formed between Cardinia Casey Community Health Service, Kooweerup Regional Health Service, Women’s Health in the South East and Monash University. The project received a small grant from the Body Shop.
Method
Employment of project worker who was a hairdresser, focus groups within salons, Development of logo and marketing tools, Training manual, Training workshops, salon resource kit, Monash university evaluation - pre and post survey and twelve month point the post intervention measure completed.
Results
• Early engagement occurred with hairdressers across the shire (growth corridor and rural areas). Six focus groups enabled us to shape the program and value add to the intervention.
• Fashion industry - important to get the image right - active participation in creating the branding, in collaboration with a professional graphic artist.
• Intervention was conducted via an evening workshop in February 2009 with 23 participants utilizing a variety of adult education methods.
• The resource kit included a sticker for the salon window, small contact cards, and a folder containing fact sheets, current information from peak bodies such as Beyond Blue, family violence and local agencies.
• Media releases promoting the program helped the public to recognise the Talking Health salons.
• Follow up by the project officer occurred at 2 weeks and 3 months post workshop and additional support or resources obtained as required.
• Pre and post measures capturing both qualitative and quantitative data indicated that there was considerable improvement in confidence in dealing with clients problems and increased knowledge of where to refer clients to for support
Conclusion
Hairdressing salons are a place where women often visit regularly, build social support and share life stories. This particular setting is a wonderful way to connect with members of the community and is an under utilised resource for health promotion.
Talking Health found that hairdressing salons are a unique setting for providing the community, particularly women with access to health information and increased knowledge of local services. The project provided hairdressers with tools and resources to support their clients more effectively and manage their own responses to the experiences shared. As a result their customers receive appropriate support and information and leave feeling positive about the salon. This project acknowledges the value which hairdressers add to the community as a positive place to promote mental health and wellbeing.
Application/Implications
This project is very applicable to other communities
Comments from Training workshop:
“Knowing its ok to talk about people’s problems and be upset about grief”
“Learning what to and what not to say”
“Knowing and feeling that my approach to my clients emotional needs are close to the mark”
Hairdressing
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Shakti McLaren Community Health Nurse, Aileen Thoms Kooweerup Health Promotion
Practitioner, Regional Health Service Rhonda Garad Health Promotion
Practitioner CCCHS, Dr Andrew Joyce Monash University, Imageffect, Schana Serin
Project worker WHISE, Peer support leaders, Hairdressers across Cardinia Shire.
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