Obesity prevention and community outreach through partnership with Faith-based organizations in a low income urban setting: Potentials and barriers

Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine the potential role of Faith Based Organizations (FBOs) in obesity prevention within a low-income urban community. The ultimate goal is to identify the barriers and challenges that elucidate the required supports for helping FBOs reach their potentials, as well as sustain their programs. Method: Data in this study were collected using an environmental scan approach that combined results from reviewing community documents, attending two advisory committee meetings, conducting two neighborhood scans and observations, and interviewing five key-informants from FBOs within the community. Participants were selected for interview through a snowballing sampling technique. Data were analyzed by systematic organization and categorization of information using a coding method to generate grounded theories. Results: Some barriers and challenges of FBOs were identified that influence the capacity of FBOs at the individual, familial, organizational, communal and political levels. The two ultimate challenges identified in this study are limited funding and lack of participation. The larger FBOs mentioned the lack of participation as a major challenge while the smaller FBOs were more concerned about lack of resources and funding. In addition, some innovative and culturally appropriate solutions were identified to help FBOs play more effective roles and sustain their programs. Conclusion: FBOs have great potential for community outreach and health promotion activities within low-income urban communities. However, there are some barriers and challenges that should be considered. Through innovative simple solutions, partnership with FBOs could make local leadership stronger and thus lead to more effective programs.