Participant Perspectives on the Effects of an African American Faith-Based Health Promotion Educational Intervention: a Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND: In the USA, African Americans (AAs) experience a greater burden of mortality and morbidity from chronic health conditions including obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Faith-based programs are a culturally sensitive approach that potentially can address the burden of chronic health conditions in the AA community. OBJECTIVE: The primary objective was to assess (i) the perceptions of participants of Live Well by Faith (LWBF)—a government supported faith-based program to promote healthy living across several AA churches—on the effectiveness of the program in promoting overall wellness among AAs. A secondary objective was to explore the role of the church as an intervention unit for health promotion among AAs. METHODS: Guided by the socio-ecological model, data were collected through 21 in-depth interviews (71% women) with six AA church leaders, 10 LWBF lifestyle coaches, and five LWBF program participants. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed by three of the researchers. FINDINGS: Several themes emerged suggesting there was an effect of the program at multiple levels: the intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, and community levels. Most participants reported increased awareness about chronic health conditions, better social supports to facilitate behavior change, and creation of health networks within the community. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that one approach to address multilevel factors in a culturally sensitive manner could include developing government-community partnership to co-create interventions.