Health Disparities and Hair Product-Related Breast Cancer Risk for Black Women: A N.I.C.E. Report on Information You Want to Know!

Recently, I was a Keynote Speaker at the 7th Annual Health Disparities Conference at Teachers College (TC) Columbia University.   Overall, it was an outstanding event and I appreciated the opportunity to speak about the issue of health disparity and the convergence of social unjust factors (food injustice, mass incarceration, the school to prison pipeline and prison profiteers). I also had the opportunity to hold a book signing of which many of my books were acquired.  As an alumna of TC, and the mother of a current Doctoral student at TC,  it was an honor and a privilege to participate in such a significant event.

 

Also, I had the opportunity to attend the poster session of this event where students, and organizations, presented their research.  Although many of the posters were compelling, the one that was very relevant to N.I.C.E., and the most interesting, was entitled "Using CBPR to Explore Community Concerns of Hair Product Related Breast Cancer Risk for Black Women" presented by Dede Kossiwa Teteh who is the Project Coordinator for Healthy Heritage Movement, which is a Health Education and Advocacy Organization, located in Riverside, California. Her poster included a sections entitled, "Our Hairstory," "The Importance of Hair in Black Culture," "Societal Influences on Hair and Identity and Reactions of potential risk of hair products to health.

For more information about this informative research contact: DedeKossiwa Teteh, MPH, CHES, Cost of Beauty-Project Coordinator, Healthy Heritage Movement: costofbeautystudy@gmail.com