Understanding Health Promotion in the African American Church

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between leadership practices, level of spirituality, and health perceptions of church leaders and the prevalence of health promotion programs in African American churches. A combined self-administered web-based survey consisting of the Leadership Practices Inventory, Spiritual Perspective Scale, and a modified version of the Health Ministries Survey was used in the study. A total of 122 pastors serving predominantly African American churches in DC, Maryland, and Virginia responded to the survey for an overall response rate of 21.3%. Both the leadership practices and the level of spirituality of respondents were relatively high and most pastors had positive health perceptions. All pastors who participated in the study had at least one health promotion program in their church. Overall, leadership practices and prevalence of health promotion programs were positively correlated and statistically significant (r =.27). There was also a positive and statistically significant relationship between the prevalence of health promotion programs in African American churches and leadership practices, PhD or higher degree, and congregations with annual house hold incomes of $51,000 -$75,000 (R2 =.23, F(3, 86) = 8.75, p<.001). The positive correlation between leadership practices and prevalence of health promotion programs in African American churches suggests that pastors as transformational leaders have the ability to impact the health programs implemented in African American churches. The results of this study contribute to the knowledgebase regarding church leadership, and may be informative for the development and implementation of health promotion programs in African American churches.