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Maintaining healthy behaviors is challenging. Based upon previous reports that in North Carolina (NC), USA, overweight/obese clergy lost weight during a two-year religiously tailored health intervention, we described trajectories of diet, physical activity, and sleep. We investigated whether behavior changes were associated with weight and use of health-promoting theological messages. Improvements were observed in sleep, calorie-dense food intake, and physical activity, with the latter two associated with weight loss. While theological messages were well-retained, their relationship with behaviors depended on the specific message, behavior, and timing. Findings offer insights into weight loss mechanisms, including the role of theological messages in religiously tailored health interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The job–demand–control–support model indicates that clergy are at high risk for chronic stress and adverse health outcomes. A multi-group pre-test–post-test design was used to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and range of outcome effect sizes for four potentially stress-reducing interventions: stress inoculation training, mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), the Daily Examen, and Centering Prayer. All United Methodist clergy in North Carolina were eligible and recruited via email to attend their preferred intervention. Surveys at 0, 3, and 12 weeks assessed symptoms of stress, anxiety, and perceived stress reactivity. Heart rate variability (HRV) was assessed at baseline and 12 weeks using 24 h ambulatory heart rate monitoring data. A subset of participants completed in-depth interviews and reported skill practice using daily text messages. Standardized mean differences with 95% and 75% confidence intervals were calculated for the change observed in each intervention from baseline to 3 and 12 weeks post-baseline to determine the range of effect sizes likely to be observed in a definitive trial. 71 clergy participated in an intervention. The daily percentage of participants engaging in stress management practices ranged from 47% (MBSR) to 69% (Examen). Results suggest that participation in Daily Examen, stress inoculation, or MBSR interventions could plausibly result in improvement in stress and anxiety at 12 weeks with small-to-large effect sizes. Small effect sizes on change in HRV were plausible for MBSR and Centering Prayer from baseline to 12 weeks. All four interventions were feasible and acceptable, although Centering Prayer had lower enrollment and mixed results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clergy are tasked with multiple interpersonal administrative, organizational, and religious responsibilities, such as preaching, teaching, counseling, administering sacraments, developing lay leader skills, and providing leadership and vision for the congregation and community. The high expectations and demands placed on them put them at an increased risk for mental distress such as depression and anxiety. Little is known about whether and how clergy, helpers themselves, receive care when they experience mental distress. All active United Methodist Church (UMC) clergy in North Carolina were recruited to take a survey in 2019 comprising validated depression and anxiety screeners and questions about mental health service utilization. Bivariate and Poisson regression analyses were conducted on the subset of participants with elevated depressive and anxiety symptoms to determine the extent of mental health service use during four different timeframes and the relationship between service use and sociodemographic variables. A total of 1,489 clergy participated. Of the 222 (15%) who had elevated anxiety or depressive symptoms or both, 49.1% had not ever or recently (in the past two years) seen a mental health professional. Participants were more likely to report using services currently or recently (in the past two years) if they were younger, had depression before age 21, or "very often" felt loved and cared for by their congregation. The rate of mental health service use among UMC clergy is comparable to the national average of service use by US adults with mental distress. However, it is concerning that 49% of clergy with elevated symptoms were not engaged in care. This study points to clergy subgroups to target for an increase in mental health service use. Strategies to support clergy and minimize mental health stigma are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an occupational group, clergy exhibit numerous physical health problems. Given the physical health problems faced by clergy, understanding where physical health falls within the priorities of seminary students, the ways students conceptualize physical health, and how seminary students do or do not attend to their physical health in the years immediately prior to becoming clergy, can inform intervention development for both seminary students and clergy. Moreover, understanding and shaping the health practices of aspiring clergy may be particularly impactful, with cascading effects, as clergy serve as important role models for their congregants. Drawing on 36 in-depth, qualitative interviews with first-year seminary students, this study examines the complex dynamics between religious frameworks related to physical health, explicit intentions to maintain healthy practices, and reported physical health behaviors. Our findings suggest that even students who deploy religious frameworks in relation to their physical health—and who, as a result, possess positive intentions to implement and maintain healthy behaviors—often report being unable to live up to their aspirations, especially in the face of barriers to health practices posed by the seminary program itself. After reviewing these findings, we offer suggestions for physical health focused interventions, including action and coping planning, which could be implemented at seminaries to reduce the intention–behavior gap and improve clergy health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of caregivers of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) rarely examine the role religion plays in their lives. We conducted qualitative interviews of 69 caregivers in four countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Cambodia, and India (Hyderabad and Nagaland), and across four religious traditions: Christian (Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant), Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu. We asked respondents to describe the importance of religion for their becoming a caregiver, the way in which religion has helped them make sense of why children are orphans, and how religion helps them face the challenges of their occupation. Using qualitative descriptive analysis, three major themes emerged. Respondents discussed how religion provided a strong motivation for their work, reported that religious institutions were often the way in which they were introduced to caregiving as an occupation, and spoke of the ways religious practices sustain them in their work. They rarely advanced religion as an explanation for why OVC exist—only when pressed did they offer explicitly religious accounts. This study has implications for OVC care, including the importance of engaging religious institutions to support caregivers, the significance of attending to local religious context, and the vital need for research outside of Christian contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]