Promoting Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination Through African American Beauty Salons

The investigators propose a non-randomized pilot study to assess the feasibility and
effectiveness of using urban beauty salons as settings for culturally-competent health
education about HPV vaccination. The educational messages will engage individual women,
their peer group, their family members and community influencers in a way that is authentic
and share-able. Involving women in give-and-take discussions with people they trust and
respect—their hairdressers—will be essential to increasing the number of them who consider
the HPV vaccine for themselves and for those they care about. The investigators believe that
it is only after women who are opinion leaders among their peers begin positively supporting
HPV prevention that it will gain wider acceptance.

The investigators plan to recruit eight (8) predominantly African American beauty salons in
Philadelphia and train multiple stylists in each salon to act as in-salon educators and
facilitators for client recruitment to sexual health education sessions. These education
sessions will be run by trained health educators (also African American females) and take
place during "down times" in each of the salons, on a rotating basis.

- The investigators hypothesize the ability to successfully recruit eight (8) beauty
salons for participation

- The investigators hypothesize the ability to successfully train multiple stylists per
site to talk to their clients about HPV and its impact on women of color

- The investigators hypothesize that knowledge and awareness of HPV, as well as
intentions to vaccinate will significantly improve among women who attend a salon-based
health education session