Evaluation of faith-based health programming in the bronx: Successes and challenges

Background: Faith-based health programming effectively engages minority populations that may have limited access to and trust in healthcare settings. Evaluation of such programs is necessary. Bronx Health REACH, a coalition of 70+ organizations, developed the Faith-Based Outreach Initiative (FBOI), which offered programming to reduce racial and ethnic disparities related to obesity and diabetes. It was evaluated using CBPR methods.

Methods: The FBOI evaluation was overseen by a Community Research Committee (CRC), which included pastors, community members, health professionals, staff, and researchers. The evaluation focused on process and outcomes, utilizing qualitative and quantitative methods, including interviews, focus groups, and surveys. Responsibility for data collection was shared between evaluation staff, FBOI staff, and project consultants. Interpretation of findings was the responsibility of the CRC.

Results: The CRC provided ongoing and valuable input to the evaluation, and our mixed-method approach facilitated collection of important individual and organizational data that provided insight into multiple aspects of the FBOI. Evaluation challenges included difficulty scheduling research activities due to competing priorities of churches; difficulty assessing individual change because of the voluntary nature of church activities; and inconsistent adherence to some aspects of the research protocol. To address these challenges, results were regularly discussed in CRC meetings and reported to participating churches, evaluation training was provided, and data from multiple methods were used to confirm study findings.

Conclusions: Conducting research on health programming in faith-settings is essential and informative, but challenges should be addressed proactively through open communication, regular reporting, training, and a mixed methods research approach.