Biblical principles and lay health advisor training: A brother's keeper pathway toward promoting African American men's health

Issues: Brother's Keeper is a NIH-funded, church-based lay health advisor (LHA) intervention trial, designed to build on the influence of scripture, sermons, corporate prayer, and song to transfer meaning and impetus for change in African American men's cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes. Since few LHA programs focus on men, a community-based participatory research partnership comprised of a divinity school at a Historically Black University, research university, community-based organization, and health department was formed. The purposes of this paper are to: compare and contrast secular LHA training curricula with that, which is informed by Biblical principles for church-based, African American male LHAs; and identify relevant Biblical principles. Description: To improve adherence to care among African American men with CVD in one rural county of North Carolina, Brother's Keeper is training “Navigators,” who are 20 men from 4 Black churches. Each Navigator assists and follows 6 men with CVD, called “Keepers,” who may or may not be members of the Navigator's church. Navigators complete a 16-hour training consisting of 5 modules; each informed by a Biblical principle. Trainers are: a church deacon; an ordained minister; a public health nurse; and a university professor. Lessons learned: The pulpit has the power to take the poisonous material of suffering and minister a powerful healing balm to suffering humanity, which is God's sacred temple. God is a caring healer as opposed to a curing healer who expects humans not only to look out for our own interests, but also for the interests of others.