Recruiting and Surveying Catholic Parishes for Cancer Control Initiatives

Abstract

Background We describe activities undertaken to conduct organizational surveys among faith-based organizations (FBOs) in Massachusetts (MA) as part of a larger study designed to promote parish-based cancer control programs for Latinos. Methods Catholic parishes located in MA that provided Spanish-language mass were eligible for study participation. Parishes were identified through diocesan records and online directories. Prior to parish recruitment, we implemented a variety of activities to gain support from Catholic leaders at the Diocesan level. We then recruited individual parishes to complete a four-part organizational survey, which assessed: (A) parish leadership; (B) financial resources; (C) involvement in Hispanic ministry; and (D) health and social service offerings. Our goal was to administer each survey component to a parish representatives who could best provide an organizational perspective on the content of each component (e.g., A=pastors; B= Business Managers; C=Hispanic Ministry Leaders; and D= Parish Nurse or Health Ministry leader. Here, we present descriptive statistics on recruitment and survey administration processes. Results Seventy-five percent of eligible parishes responded to the survey and of these, 92% completed all four components. Completed four-part surveys required an average of 16.6 contact attempts. There were an average of 2.1 respondents per site. Pastoral staff were the most frequent respondents (79%), but also required the most contact attempts (M = 9.3, range = 1 to 27). While most interviews were completed by phone (71%), one-quarter were completed during in-person site visits. Conclusions We achieved a high survey completion rate among organizational representatives. Our lessons learned may inform efforts to engage and survey FBOs for public health efforts.

Leadership networks in Catholic parishes: Implications for implementation research in health

“…While findings from related research show that the involvement of the parish priest is key to the initial engagement of parishes in EBIs (Allen et al, submitted for publication), the findings of this study suggest that at parishes like Sacred Heart, volunteer lay leaders would be more engaged in the day-to-day EBI implementation process. This is consistent with research that points out that those with decision-making authority about whether nor not to adopt interventions are not necessarily those who will be involved in the implementation process (Weiner et al, 2009), a key factor often overlooked.…”

“…Leadership structures must be considered when designing and implementing health programs (Emmons et al, 2012). For example, necessary groundwork prior to the implementation of interventions in faith-based organizations ideally involves cultivation of relationships along a chain of authority, beginning with bishops and their staff at the diocesan level (Allen et al, submitted for publication). A parish must be understood in terms of the various ways in which overall traditional leadership structures are adapted according to local norms and characteristics of individual parishes.…”

Spirituality and Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior among Latino Men and Women in Massachusetts

“…[36][37][38][39] Successful faith-based physical activity interventions have included group-based programs with spiritual messages from church leaders in order to establish a deep connection with participants' culture and values to improve retention and behavior change. 36,[40][41][42][43][44][45] However, to our knowledge, there are no faithbased interventions that focus on reducing sedentary behavior among Latinos.…”

Priorities, concerns and unmet needs amongHaitians inBoston after the 2010 earthquake

“…Church-based intervention strategies that utilise lay health workers and group education are also likely to be effective, but again there is a dearth of research utilising these strategies for health promotion in this population. These strategies have been effective for promoting health and behaviour change among African Americans (Campbell et al 1999, 2000, Bowen et al 2004, Resnicow et al 2004, Allicock et al 2010 and evidence suggests that they can be effective among Latinos (Castro et al 1995, Gany et al 2006, Lopez & Castro 2006, Lujan et al 2007, Sauaia et al 2007, Walsh et al 2010, Jandorf et al 2012, Allen et al 2014, 2015a. Evidence regarding the general utility of church-based interventions, along with the findings from this study, suggests that this is a worthwhile avenue for additional study.…”

“…, Allen et al . , a,b). Evidence regarding the general utility of church‐based interventions, along with the findings from this study, suggests that this is a worthwhile avenue for additional study.…”