Collecting Hair Samples for Hair Cortisol Analysis in African Americans
June 2018
in “
Journal of Visualized Experiments
”
TLDR A culturally sensitive method was developed to collect hair samples from African Americans for stress analysis.
The document discussed the challenges and solutions for collecting hair samples for cortisol analysis in African Americans, highlighting cultural sensitivities and hair care practices that may cause reluctance in providing samples. It presented a culturally informed protocol to facilitate sample collection, which included showing participants pictures of hair samples and using a single strain twist and gently pull method to collect 30-50 strands from the posterior vertex region. This approach aimed to improve the collection process in community-based studies on chronic stress.