From the Spring 2017 UNCG Research Magazine
African American barbershops have long been places for the black community to open up, to speak freely.
And Dr. Tanya Coakley is looking to them in her attempt to help foster better health communication between fathers and sons.
Coakley, a professor in the Department of Social Work, recently received a prestigious R15 grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, to study how African American fathers talk to their sons about sexual health. One of the study goals is to reduce sexually-transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy.
She has enlisted a network of barbershops in Greensboro, Charlotte, and Reidsville to help recruit participants.