Examining tobacco use prevalence, knowledge, and attitudes among African American clergy in rural Arkansas

Historically, faith based institutions have been at the center of civic and social change in our local communities. Faith based institutions are joining forces with health organizations around the world to promote healthy behaviors and create change at the local level.  Each year more than 47,000 African-Americans die each year from tobacco related diseases. African-American faith based institutions can send a powerful tobacco-free message to its members and the community by adopting policies and programs that facilitate the cessation of tobacco. Although spirituality and religiosity have been studied extensively in other areas of health care, little research has been done concerning the relationship between tobacco use prevalence, knowledge, and attitudes among African American clergy. Faith based institutions in African American communities are being encouraged by public health organizations to promote tobacco cessation without knowledge of clergy’s knowledge and attitudes about tobacco. Clergy members are the primary decision makers in many faith based organizations. This study examines the associations between clergy members’ tobacco use and their attitudes and knowledge about tobacco. The results of the study will provide tobacco advocates a better understanding of how to engage with clergy members to implment faith based and/or faith placed interventions.