Faith-based health promotion programs have been effective in increasing healthy eating (HE) and physical activity (PA). Very few reports exist regarding church leaders' anticipated and experienced barriers and facilitators to program implementation. Pastors (n = 38, 70%) and program coordinators (n = 54, 100%) from churches (N = 54) who attended a…

We investigated class clustering patterns of four behaviors--physical activity, fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake, smoking, and alcohol use--in a faith-based African American cohort. Guided by socio-ecological models, we also examined the psychosocial and neighborhood social environmental factors associated with the clustering patterns.…

Diet and physical activity are behavioral risk factors for many chronic diseases, which are among the most common health conditions in the United States. Yet most Americans fall short of meeting established dietary and physical activity guidelines. Faith-based organizations as settings for health promotion interventions can affect members at…

Faith-based settings offer opportunities for reaching populations at risk for chronic conditions and are optimal settings for dissemination and implementation (D&I) research. "Faith, Activity, and Nutrition" (FAN) is an evidence-based program designed to promote physical activity (PA) and healthy eating (HE) through church policy,…

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of death among people living in the United States. Populations, especially minorities, living in the rural South are disproportionately affected by CVD and have greater CVD risk, morbidity and mortality. Culturally relevant cardiovascular health programs implemented in rural community settings can…

The use of faith-based organizations as sites to deliver diet and physical activity interventions is increasing. Methods to assess the messaging environment within churches are limited. Our research aimed to develop and test an objective assessment methodology to characterize health messages, particularly those related to diet and physical…

Objectives: Individuals may engage in more than one risk behaviour at any given time. The extent to which risk behaviours cluster among African American adults has been largely unexplored. This study examined the prevalence and clustering of three risk behaviours among African American church members: smoking; low moderate-to-vigorous intensity…

This study used data from 850 African Americans to test optimal matching theory (OMT). OMT predicts that (1) the most important dimensions of social support depend on the controllability of the behavior and (2) different network members often provide support across health behaviors. Data were gathered on social support source for physical…