About W.A.S.H.
W.A.S.H. began in July 2021 with the goal of better understanding barriers to reproductive healthcare faced by non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic/Latine women living in DC’s Wards 1, 4, 5, and 7.
Phases of W.A.S.H. have been co-created and informed through its Community Advisory Board (CAB) composed of residents from DC’s Wards 1 and 5. To find out more about the process of bringing together the CAB, check out our publication (see our short summary in our BLOG section!).
We are looking forward to expanding our research partnership to communities in other wards, as well as the topics we cover, so please reach out!
“I am usually not doing much while waiting for my clothes to be done washing and drying. It is a cool idea because not everyone has the time or energy to get educated about their healthcare so for someone to come to you sounds great.”
— 24 year old Hispanic Woman
Our Aims
What if ‘waiting’ in an ordinary community space could become a gateway to preventive health? Our Wash and Spin to Health initiative (W.A.S.H.) envisions a future where public health and health literacy meet people where they are, turning ordinary spaces into engines of access and equity. We specifically explore the laundromat — a trusted, neutral, and often overlooked neighborhood hub — as a site for transformative health literacy!
W.A.S.H. just completed three key aims related to reproductive health that first began in 2022. First, we conducted a needs assessment as a first step towards the development of an educational intervention (EI) tailored to community needs to be delivered in community laundromats. The needs assessment also provided data on reproductive health knowledge and the acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility of delivering an intervention in a laundromat setting. This work has been published in Health Equity and can be found at this location (see our short summary in our Blog Section.).
We then developed an EI based on results from the needs assessment and input from our Community Advisory Board (CAB). Once a prototype was created, providers working with women in DC were able to provide their feedback and thoughts on the EI, which was then tweaked with further CAB input. This work will be published shortly.
Then this past August, we wrapped up our pilot study to test whether the intervention could work in a laundromat! We will be sure to share results from this final step as they become available, but we are already looking ahead! Using community input from the first phase of W.A.S.H., we plan to have W.A.S.H. increase cancer communication, education, screening, and support.
W.A.S.H. invites its participants to see themselves as capable agents of prevention and health — to reimagine health messaging to reach those who are often not reached!
