Nail Salon Worker Leadership and Reducing Breast Cancer Risk
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Introduction: Toxic chemicals in nail salon products may increase nail salon workers’ risk for developing breast cancer. Worker empowerment, leadership, and voice are essential to identifying hazards and ensuring that employers fulfill their responsibility to provide safe and healthy working conditions. In order to facilitate this critical piece of the puzzle for occupational breast cancer prevention among nail salon workers, this project aims to conduct community-based participatory research (CBPR) to develop a conceptual model of worker leadership development and design and pilot a leadership training program for Vietnamese nail salon workers. 
 
 Question(s) or hypotheses: The research question we aim to answer is: What are the elements of a successful worker leadership and empowerment education program for preparing workers to take action to reduce exposures to chemicals in nail salons that may increase the risk of breast cancer? 
 
 General methodology: We will form and evaluate a CBPR partnership between the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative (Collaborative) and the Labor Occupational Health Program at the University of California, Berkeley. The partnership will conduct research on and refine a theory-based model of worker leadership capacity and development, and use findings to design and pilot a nail salon worker leadership program. The ultimate goal of the training is to support nail salon workers in leading and taking action to reduce chemical exposures at the workplace that may put them at risk for breast cancer. This pilot proposal includes conducting interviews and focus groups with Vietnamese nail salon workers on the meanings of breast cancer and their perceived connections to workplace exposures, and interviews with worker leaders from different industries and the staff who trained them to hone in on essential elements of worker leadership development. We will then develop and pilot test a new breast cancer justice worker leadership training program. 
 
 Innovative elements: The innovation of this project is in its focus on a leadership development and empowerment strategy to prepare workers to advocate for reducing harmful chemicals in the nail salon workplace that may increase the risk for breast cancer. Our partnership brings together unique strengths in community outreach, engagement, and training; a commitment to healthy nail salons and worker empowerment; and equitable participation between community and university partners in our research process. 
 
 Community involvement: The partnership will involve the nail salon community through a Community Advisory Board (CAB) of eight to 10 members who are long-standing, dedicated nail salon community members currently active in the Collaborative’s research and advocacy efforts. The CAB members will participate in quarterly meetings, interviews, and focus groups to provide input, guidance, and data for the project. Two members of the CAB who are breast cancer survivors will also serve on the project’s Steering Committee where they will collaborate with other partners to make joint decisions about the research. Additionally, we will share project updates, solicit comments, and share the pilot’s findings with the Collaborative’s larger community membership of nail salon owners, workers, and concerned members of the Vietnamese community. 
 
 Future Plans: This pilot study will provide the foundation for future research that will evaluate the effectiveness of a research-based worker leadership development training program in supporting nail salon workers to take action to reduce workplace exposures to chemicals that may increase breast cancer risk. Ultimately, the diffusion of effective training of worker leaders has the potential to result in increasing numbers of empowered workers in this vulnerable population taking action to protect themselves from on-the-job exposures to breast cancer chemicals of concern.