223755 Addressing cardiovascular disease in African-American rural churches: Findings from a participant observation analysis

Monday, November 8, 2010 : 2:55 PM - 3:10 PM

Mimi Misung Kim, PhD , University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, Chapel Hill, NC
Olusola Olabode-Dada , UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, University of North Carolina, Gillings School of Global School of Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC
Eugenia Eng, MPH, DrPH , Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
Carol Burt, MPPA , Institute for Health, Social, and Community Research, Shaw University, Raleigh, NC
La-Shell Johnson , University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Mohamed Jalloh, MPH Candidate , Health Behavior and Health Education, Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC
Amma Agyemang, MPH , School of Public Health, Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Kevin Wu, MPH , School of Medicine, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Keon L. Gilbert, DrPH, MPA, MA , Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Saint Louis University, School of Public Health, St. Louis, MO
Leonard Williams , Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Moses V. Goldmon, EdD , Shaw University, Raleigh, NC
Daniel L. Howard, PhD , The Robert Wood Johnson Center for Health Policy, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN
Paul Godley, MD, PhD, MPP , Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Jerry Ann Gregory, RN , United Voices of Efland-Cheeks, Mebane, NC
     
Issues Researchers have found that behaviors associated with managing and controlling CVD, such as seeking treatment, controlling diet, and exercising, may be significantly influenced not only by a man's awareness and knowledge, but also by his racial/ethnic identity, gender role socialization, and culture, among other influences. This study examined African-American church contexts through participant observation to learn more about the role of health issues in the African-American church context.

Description A total of 20 participant observations (POs) were conducted in a variety of contexts across 4 southern, rural African-American churches including: Sunday service, Bible study, fellowship hour, men's meetings, NAACP Chapter Meeting, Sunday school, and intercessory prayer.

Lessons Learned These observations proved to be an effective strategy for better understanding possible ways to access hard-to-reach African-American men within a religious setting. Specific church dynamics such as pastor-congregation relationships, gender roles, and historical health beliefs are prominent themes that can inform CVD intervention designs and their effective delivery to African-American men within a church context.

Recommendations Future research should turn to churches as an effective venue for contacting, educating, and delivering interventions that address CVD among African-American men. In order to do so, researchers must gain an individual and unique perspective of the church contexts with which they collaborate in order to design more effective and appropriate health interventions.

Learning Objectives:
1. Identify pertinent themes found in churches that can be associated with cardiovascular disease among African-American men. 2. Demonstrate an understanding of the value of participant observation analysis when working with African-American churches on improving health issues. 3. Discuss various aspects that may be critical to delivering health interventions in African-American churches.

Keywords: Faith Community, Ethnic Minorities

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I contributed substantially to the conceptualization, analysis, and synthesis of this analysis.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3298.0: Partnering with rural black churches to promote men's cardiovascular health: Are we our brother's keeper?