142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Home Events & Meetings Annual Meeting Schedule & Program

Online Program

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

299256
Barriers to and Facilitators of Addressing Adolescent Sexual Health in Churches

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Terrinieka Williams, PhD , Population Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Samantha Illangasekare, PhD, MPH , Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Eric Rice, PhD , School of Education, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
James Wilson , Sisters Together and Reaching, Baltimore, MD
Debra Hickman, MDiv , Sisters Together and Reaching, Baltimore, MD
Robert Blum, MD PhD MPH , Department of Population, Family & Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Background: High HIV/AIDS and teen pregnancy rates exist disproportionately among low income adolescents residing in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Churches and faith leaders are trusted individuals who have the ability to communicate important health messages to large groups. We describe a research project collaboratively designed and conducted by Sisters Together and Reaching (STAR) and the Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute (UHI) to better understand how churches in neighborhoods with high rates of HIV/AIDS and teen pregnancy address adolescent sexual health.

Methods: Nine predominantly African-American Christian congregations located in Baltimore, Maryland participated in this study. The senior pastor and one youth minister from each church participated in an in-depth interview (N = 18). Forty-five youth and 37 parents from eight of the churches also participated in focus groups. All qualitative data were analyzed inductively using a constant comparative approach.

Results: Youth and adult participants differed on their reports of the frequency, format and range of sexual health topics discussed in their churches. All participants discussed barriers to implementing adolescent sexual health programs in their congregations, including cost and parental consent. Participants also highlighted reasons and strategies to implement such programs regardless of the obstacles, such as the need in the community and existing infrastructure for sexual health programming.

Conclusions: The need and potential positive impact on young people outweigh the challenges associated with addressing adolescent sexual health in churches. Partnerships between churches, community-based organizations, and public health professionals offer a promising approach to bridging religious messages and sexual health information.

Learning Areas:

Diversity and culture
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related education
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Identify the challenges to addressing adolescent sexual health in churches Describe opportunities to build on church assets to address adolescent sexual health Explain the major findings from this community-university partnership.

Keyword(s): Youth, Religion

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am committed to developing, conducting and evaluating effective community prevention interventions for urban, underserved adolescents and their families. I have extensive experience in conducting community-based participatory research and using qualitative methods to address issues with African American young people, their families, and their churches.
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: 4080.1: Faith-Based Approaches in Addressing Public Health Challenges (Poster Session)