Utility of a congregational health assessment to identify and direct health promotion opportunities in churches

Identifying health conditions, priorities, and relevant multilevel health promotion intervention strategies in African American churches: A faith community health needs assessment

“…This is not surprising, since women tend to attend church more frequently than men (Pew Research Center, 2009; 2015). Other African American church-based studies have found similar overrepresentation (e.g., Author et al, 2016; Sattin, Williams, Dias, Garvin, Marion et al, 2015; Whitt-Glover, Porter, Yore, Demons, Goldmon et al, 2014). The underrepresentation of African American men may leave the findings lacking on input regarding the unique needs and considerations in addressing men’s health, particularly in church-community interventions.…”

“…Whitt-Glover, Porter, Yore, Demons, Goldmon et al (2014) conducted a church health assessment (N = 887) with participants who were primarily Black (68%) and women (70%). The most prevalent health conditions reported were high blood pressure (40%), diabetes (16%), and asthma (13%).…”

Assessing Capacity of Faith-Based Organizations for Health Promotion Activities

“…A number of previous instruments are indeed available to assess characteristics of FBOs (see Berkely-Patton et al, 2012; Carter-Edwards, Jallah, Goldman, Robertson, & Hoyo, 2006; Christian Reformed Church, n.d.; Leake et al, 2007; Trinitapoli, Ellison, & Boardman, 2009; United Church of Christ, n.d.; Whitt-Glover, Porter, Yore, Demons, & Goldmon, 2014). These instruments assess domains such as leadership, financial operations, membership, program evaluation, marketing, and ministries.…”

Development of tailored feedback reports on organizational capacity for health promotion in African American churches

“…PowerPoint presentations were tailored to each community group and age level, and lasted 30 minutes followed by 30 minutes for feedback and learning with community members. Several studies have focused on potential or actual dissemination of findings to community partners in the context of church-based settings (Berkley-Patton et al, 2010; Whitt-Glover et al, 2014). For example, Berkley-Patton and colleagues (2010) assessed church partners’ input on the capacity and culture of 58 African American churches to deliver HIV interventions, and developed and delivered the TIPS HIV Tool Kit in collaboration with church leaders using multilevel church dissemination outlets (e.g., church service, ministry group, peer-to-peer dissemination).…”

“…This manuscript documents the development and dissemination of a report on organizational capacity to the Project HEAL churches, individualized for each church based on their organizational capacity scores. Based on previous research (Chen, Diaz, Lucas, & Rosenthal, 2010; Whitt-Glover, Porter, Yore, Demons, & Goldmon, 2014) and the experiences of the project team, we felt that these data could be helpful for fostering sustainability of health promotion in the churches. This work has implications for those working with organizations, and churches in particular due to their unique organizational characteristics, to encourage the implementation and sustainability of evidence-based interventions and health promotion activities.…”