The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #54779

Judith M. Siegel, PhD, MSHyg, Joanne Leslie, ScD, and Antronette K. Yancey, MD, MPH. School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Box 951772, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, 310-206-6442, jmsiegel@ucla.edu

This study tested the impact of religious involvement on compliance with a culturally tailored, targeted life style change program for overweight African American women. Over a one year period, the community-based intervention was designed to promote healthful eating and aerobic exercise as a means lowering weight and reducing cancer risk. Self-perceptions of "faith helps me change", assessed at two months, were examined as predictors of change between baseline and 12 months in three uncorrelated domains: weight, one-mile treadmill time, and depressive symptomatology (CES-D). Belief that faith helps facilitate personal change had no impact on actual change in weight, treadmill time, or depression, even taking household support for exercise, self esteem, and exercise self efficacy into account. These analyses were repeated within groups of participants dichotomized on the basis of the importance of religion in their lives. Still, belief that faith helps change was unrelated to actual change among participants who varied on the importance of religion in their lives. Similar results were obtained when substituting a measure of frequency of attendance at religious services for the faith helps change variable. Given the very high level of religious involvement among these participants, it is difficult to know if faith actually played no role in facilitating behavior change or if the supportive role of faith was relatively similar throughout the sample. Possible methodological shortcomings are considered as well as strategies for incorporating faith into community based interventions.

Learning Objectives:

• At the conclusion of the session, the learner will be able to:
• Discuss the potential pathways through which religious involvement might influence health promotion;
• Evaluate the circumstances that might maximize the positive impact of religious involvement.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.