Sheede Khalil DMD 12 Brings Diabetes Awareness to the Barbershop
A barbershop may seem like an interesting place to talk about your health, but Sheede Khalil DMD 12 learned during her externship rotation at the Dimock Center, with preceptor Dr. Lagina Bickham, that often more is taking place there than just haircuts.
“The barbershop in many communities is not just a place for a haircut, but is in fact a center of social life,” said Khalil. “Many members of these communities value the advice and words of the barber.”
She continued, “As part of my externship community outreach project, I participated in the Barbershop Project. Dr. Bickham really wanted to get this project—which is a collaborative effort between Dimock, barbers, and the Boston Public Health Commission—off the ground and I was eager to get involved.”
For her contribution to the project Khalil met with members of the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) Office of Oral Health, Andrea Lam and Sandra Vásquez. From her discussions with BPHC she designed and created a poster that discussed an important issue in the community—diabetes and its correlation to oral health. Khalil, accompanied by Lam, then hosted an event at Mattapan’s Finest Barber. At the barbershop Khalil discussed diabetes with the patrons and the barbers, 33 individuals in total, both male and female. She and Lam also passed out complimentary toothbrushes and informational pamphlets on diabetes and oral health, diabetes and healthy eating, what to expect at a dental appointment, and low-cost oral health resources and services in Boston. Many patrons noted that they had a family member with diabetes or were diabetic themselves.
“I focused on discussing diabetes and its correlation to oral health with both the patrons and the barbers with the hope that after my departure the barbers would be able to share their knowledge with others,” added Khalil.
BPHC felt that the project was successful as an initial pilot and hopes to advance it further.
Khalil completed her externship in December, but said of the project, “This was a wonderful opportunity for me and my hope is that the event at Mattapan’s Finest Barber is the start of an ongoing collaboration between GSDM, BPHC, local barbershops, and Dimock.”
