Identifying priority health disparities and relevant health promotion strategies among an African American church-community population: Findings from a health needs assessment survey in faith-community settings

Promotion of preventive behaviors, health screening, and access to care is critical to addressing African American (AA) health disparities. Black churches may be ideal settings for health promotion interventions as they have extensive influence and reach in AA communities. Yet, limited studies exist on engaging AA faith communities in identifying priority health disparity conditions and feasible, multilevel church-community intervention strategies of importance to address them. Using a community-engaged approach, a health needs assessment survey was conducted with members from the Kansas City (KC) FAITH Initiative Community Action Board and 11 KC AA churches. The survey inquired about participants’ experiences/opinions regarding health disparities (e.g., diabetes, HIV, heart disease/stroke, asthma, homicides/violence, mental health) and importance/feasibility of multilevel health promotion strategies in church-community settings to address each disparity. Participants (N=463; mean age=45) were primarily AA, female, and innercity KC residents. Findings indicated few participants engaged in regular exercise (36%) and few consumed >3 fruits/vegetables daily (37%). Most frequently reported health conditions were diabetes (19%) and high blood pressure (44%). Diabetes and heart disease/stroke were ranked as the most important health disparities to address in AA church-communities. Highly-rated important/feasible, relevant intervention strategies included: diabetes/heart disease/stroke education seminars; family training on exercising regularly and cooking healthy meals; church-based weight loss programs; health screenings during church services; and linkage to free/low-cost insurance and health services. These and other intervention strategies identified as important/feasible by AA faith-community members should be considered when developing interventions to address diabetes/heart disease/stroke prevention, screening, linkage to care services in church-community settings.