Hair salons may offer a safe community space to engage young women and address barriers related to sexual and reproductive health (SRH). In settings such as Lesotho, where young women face enormous SRH challenges, novel and accessible spaces besides traditional health facility settings are urgently needed. HIV- and pregnancy-related complications are still the leading cause of death among young women in high HIV prevalence settings in sub-Saharan Africa.
From March – July 2024, we implemented an innovative cross-sectional survey – designed and conducted in collaboration with citizen scientists – and gathered data among 100 hair stylists and 300 clients across Lesotho. The findings are complemented by qualitative research, narrative storytelling and a video documentary.
Thank you to all the stylists and clients for participating!
Assessing the acceptability and feasibility of offering SRH services (for example oral contraceptives, menstrual products, HIV self-testing or HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis) in hair salons and explore the role of stylists in such a care model.
New publication from our Hair Salon Project team:
See the Hair Salon Project documentary film:
Read the Hair Salon Project photo story:
See the Hair Salon Project survey results video:
We compiled the most frequently asked questions about SRH during the surveys, and turned them into a series of reels:
See a recap of a Citizen Scientist Working Group training:
Read an article by the University of Zurich on the Hair Salon Project:
We received ethics approval from the Lesotho Ministry of Health for the survey, and follow-up plans include a pilot and a cluster-randomised trial across different countries in southern Africa.
The project consortium consists of partners from the Division of Clinical Epidemiology, Basel, Switzerland, the Epidemiology, Biostatistic and Prevention Institute, Zurich, Switzerland, the Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, USA, the Colorado School of Public Health, Denver, USA, the CHUV Lausanne, Switzerland – coordinated by The Hub in Lesotho.
The project is funded by Citizen Science Zurich.
PARTNERS
The Hub 