More Than Beauty Care: Health-Talks in Korean and Vietnamese Ethnic Beauty Salons

Background and Significance: Despite the fact that cervical cancer is a major cause of death among Vietnamese American women (VAW) and Korean American women (KAW), both groups consistently report much lower rates of cervical cancer screening than other major Asian American subgroups and non-Hispanic Whites. This disparity underscores the need for additional research on innovative interventions designed to help maximize cervical cancer screening in these populations. Ethnic beauty salons may constitute an optimal place to implement such interventions to VAW and KAW. To date, no studies have assessed whether ethnic beauty salons could be utilized as settings to deliver cervical cancer screening education for these groups. Purpose: As an initial step to address this gap, we conducted a descriptive, qualitative study exploring the type of topics female cosmetologists and female customers discuss during regular beauty salon appointments, and whether health-related topics are included in these conversations. Methods: A total of 62 Vietnamese and Korean cosmetologists (n = 18) and customers (n = 44) were conveniently recruited from ethnic beauty salons run by their same ethnic cosmetologists in Albuquerque, NM. Semistructured interviews with open-ended questions were applied. Results: The study revealed that cosmetologists and customers talk to each other about daily life events (e.g., family issues, jobs, child education, beauty, cosmetics). Nearly 80% of the participants reported having talked to each other about health-related issues, including cancer. Four major health-related themes emerged from the interviews: (a) illnesses and diseases, (b) health management and maintenance, (c) healthcare systems and services, and (d) reproductive health. Implication: The study findings suggest that health related information is commonly discussed in ethnic beauty salons, and ethnic beauty salons could be utilized as potential settings in which to implement education interventions designed to increase cervical cancer screening among VAW and KAW.