Increasing Physical Activity Among Church Members

Physical Activity as Primary Prevention to Address Cancer Disparities

“…85 The trade-off, however, between scientific rigor and successful recruitment must be balanced. [86][87][88] Psychosocial and socioeconomic barriers. .…”

The feasibility of a spirituality-based wellness program on stress reduction and health behavior change

“…Despite the potential effectiveness of these programs, few programs specifically targeted the stress aspect of mental health and have focused mainly on the physical dimension of wellness in efforts to improve health behaviors such as physical activity and diet (Yanek et al, 2001;Wilcox et al, 2007;. None were designed to address the mental dimension of wellness which is important for health behavior change.…”

“…The implemented programs can also be collaborative efforts by the church and health professional (faith-based + faith-placed). Programs such as the Health-e-AME faith-based physical activity program evaluated stage of change in participants to ensure that the implemented programs reached all individuals in the target population (Wilcox et al, 2007). In a review of faith-6 based programs, faith-placed programs, and a combination of both several programs have been shown to improve various health outcomes (Dehaven et al, 2004).…”

“…Faith-based and faith-placed programs have been implemented in churches to promote physical activity, proper nutrition and knowledge of various diseases (Yanek, Becker, Moy, Gittelsohn & Koffman, 2001;Wilcox, Laken, Bopp, Gethers, Huang, McClorin, Parrott, et al, 2007;Wilcox, Laken, Parrott, Condrasky, Saunders, Addy, Evans et al, 2010).…”

“…Episcopal churches (Wilcox et al, 2007 Project Joy was a faith-based cardiovascular health promotion program designed for African American women 40 years and older (n=529, 16 local churches). The women participated in church-based nutrition and physical activity strategies for a 20-week period (Yanek et al, 2001).…”