Building salon–primary care–community partnerships for equitable NCD prevention in the UK and Guyana

Abstract

Community settings such as hairdressing salons are trusted social spaces with potential to support prevention, but sustainable implementation requires collaboration between salons, health services and community actors. This presentation uses the BELONG study, an implementation research project, to demonstrate how participatory, mixed-methods implementation approaches can build and strengthen these partnerships. BELONG was first implemented in the UK and is now being adapted for Guyana. In the UK, hairdressing salons were engaged to promote uptake of NHS Health Checks and annual reviews for women at risk of, or living with, hypertension and diabetes. Through concept mapping, stakeholder mapping and collaborative sense-making, salon owners and staff, GP teams, hair and beauty trainers, community support workers and researchers co-designed a salon-based intervention. The collaborative process demonstrated strong stakeholder enthusiasm and identified key implementation considerations, including minimising disruption to salon operations, supporting GP workflows, addressing client mobility across GP catchments, developing culturally appropriate health promotion materials, and recognising the potential roles of community champions and multisectoral roundtables in sustaining collaboration. The presentation will explore how the lessons learned from BELONG in the UK, along with other implementation research in Guyana, are informing an ongoing research project that will co-design and evaluate a barbershop-primary care-community partnership to promote mental health among young men in Guyana. The presentation will highlight opportunities for adapting and sustaining community-centred implementation strategies across diverse health system contexts.