Episode 1: Hair Equity

08/05/22 • 43 min

This episode we will discuss and learn about hair equity. Hairstyles have cultural roots. It can be easy to dismiss and think, “Well, it’s just hair.”

When people spend time in hospitals, they often experience disruptions in their normal routines and engagement in the activities of daily living or ADLs. I talked with two professionals, Lauren Justice an OT and Kim Regis, who is the Vice President of operations at Nationwide children’s hospital in Columbus Ohio. They formed a hair equity initiative and launched a program to that increased staff awareness and education, as well as, taking stock on current hair supply inventory. Their work is not only an example of occupational justice with focus on equal access to grooming but also a paragon of what can be accomplished on multidisciplinary teams.
Click here for more information on the hair equity programs at Nationwide Children's Hospital
Some common hairstyle vocabulary:
Box braids are a stye of hair-braiding. This type of hairstyle is a "protective style" (which means it is a style which can be worn for a long period of time to let natural hair grow and protect the ends of the hair) and is used as a way to protect textured hair against split ends and damage from heat and humidity. It is considered "boxy" because of square-shaped hair divisions.

A do-rag is a scarf or cloth worn on the head, typically with its ends or corners tied together in the back. It dates back to the 19th century when poor laborers and slaves needed something to tie their hair back with. Later during the Harlem Renaissance and Great Depression, in the 1930s, do-rag evolved into a hairstyle preserver.

There are two types of lace fronts, a full lace wig and a lace front wig is the base. The difference is in the name, lace front wigs contain lace in the front of the wig. It is attached to the front edges of the head, along the hairline where there is often a lace panel. Full lace wigs are pasted to the head entirely, they tend to have a slightly stronger durability.

A sew-in is a hair extensions made up of small cornrow braids that are used as anchors then attached with hair wefts by use of needle and weaving thread.
A silk press is a method of straightening natural curls without a chemical relaxer. Instead, this hairstyling technique uses a blow-dryer and flat iron to smooth out the hair.
A quick weave is a style where extensions are glued to a protective wig cap before bonding it to the head. It's a protective style that can be done at home.

This episode we will discuss and learn about hair equity. Hairstyles have cultural roots. It can be easy to dismiss and think, “Well, it’s just hair.”

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Introducing OT JEDI

Welcome to the OT JEDI podcast.

A podcast dedicated to building knowledge about social injustices and inequities in the worlds of public health & health care through the lens of occupational therapy.

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Muslim Considerations for a Self-Care Evaluation

In the United States the profession of occupational therapy was established in 1917 and in the UK it was established in 1922 but in Arab countries, like Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Palestine, Kuwait, and others, occupational therapy was established less than 40 years ago. And most Arab countries saw the establishment of occupational therapy within the last 25 years.

Of course, as the profession grew in Arab nations, theories, and models were brought in from Western countries that emphasized practices that had been developed in very different contexts. These ideas about human occupation and its connection to health and wellness had to be translated and made to fit into the Arab culture. These theories and models stem from the well-educated, privileged social positions, able-bodied, white Anglophones, who identify with Judeo-Christian cultural backgrounds.

When Dr. Razan Hamed was studying occupational therapy at the University of Jordan, she noticed that some occupational therapy evaluations were missing some important aspects of Muslim life while holding onto items that were irrelevant in Jordan. She set her sights on the Performance Assessment of Self-Care Skills or PASS and created the A-PASS, the Arabic Performance Assessment of Self-Care Skills