A group of Wayne State University School of Medicine students took their health education message to the streets - or more specifically to the barbershop - to spread awareness about HIV.
The 12 medical school volunteers set up shop in Cutz Lounge The Grooming Shop on Grand River Avenue in Detroit on June 9, recruiting customers in the barbershop before or after their appointments to participate in a survey that assessed their knowledge of HIV and PrEP (a daily pill taken to reduce the chances of HIV infection), perceptions of HIV and self-perceptions of HIV risk as well as behavior.
The students gave customers a brief PowerPoint presentation to educate them on aspects of HIV, including prevalence, progression, common myths, methods to prevent transmission and treatment options. After the presentation, customers were given a post-survey to see how much they had learned after the educational presentation.
"The reason we wanted to have an event like this was because we knew there was a great need for it in the Detroit community," said second-year medical student Salma Mumuni. "While the quality of life has improved greatly for those living with HIV, rates of HIV infection are increasing among young 20- to 30-year-old men in Detroit. African-Americans also have three- to four-times higher risk of HIV infection than the general population."
Statistics provided by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention show that in 2009 African-Americans accounted for 44 percent of HIV diagnoses, and that 1 in 22 African-American men were diagnosed with HIV.
"There is also a lot of evidence to show that young men are less likely to see a health care practitioner regularly, and that a barbershop is a good venue to hold health awareness events targeting African-American men," said Mumuni, who developed the idea of the barbershop education with fellow second-year students Josee Smith and Obinna Onyeukwu.
They planned and organized the event with the assistance of Latonya Riddle-Jones, M.D., assistant professor of the Department of Internal Medicine's Division of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics; Eric Ayers, M.D., associate professor of Internal Medicine and section chief of Med-Peds; and Jennifer Mendez, Ph.D., assistant professor and director of Co-Curricular Programs.
The students reached about 30 members of the community that day, and Mumuni said they plan to conduct additional barbershop outreach programs.