Search

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., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

HIV prevention interventions are generally effective at reducing sexual risk. Although these interventions have been widely disseminated in the USA, their success depends largely on whether subpopulations who have been prioritized for risk reduction are willing to participate. Understanding the factors predicting service utilization is critical to maximizing public health benefit. HIV-negative men who have sex with men (MSM) (n = 613) were enrolled in a longitudinal study investigating whether theoretically derived psychosocial variables (past behavior, cues to action, perceived susceptibility, positive expectations, perceived barriers, personal discomfort, and recent condomless anal intercourse) predicted intentions to use HIV prevention services and service use behavior across multiple categories (information seeking, structured service use, HIV testing, and volunteering/working in prevention services). Cues to action (including life events such as friend's recent HIV diagnosis) and past service use emerged as the most consistent predictors of intentions and actual service use. Perceived susceptibility, positive expectations, and condomless anal intercourse predicted some categories of service use indirectly through intentions. Contrary to predictions, perceived barriers and personal discomfort predicted intentions but were not predictors of service use. Intentions generally predicted behavior, with the exception of structured service use. This study addressed methodological limitations of prior research and utilized data from a longitudinal sample of MSM to discover predictors of access to HIV prevention services. Understanding who accesses HIV services and why will allow for directed strategies to improve dissemination and utilization.

Introduction: This study sought to determine the effect of a 2-year, multicomponent health intervention (Spirited Life) targeting metabolic syndrome and stress simultaneously., Design: An RCT using a three-cohort multiple baseline design was conducted in 2010-2014., Setting/participants: Participants were United Methodist clergy in North Carolina, U.S., in 2010, invited based on occupational status. Of invited 1,745 clergy, 1,114 consented, provided baseline data, and were randomly assigned to immediate intervention (n=395), 1-year waitlist (n=283), or 2-year waitlist (n=436) cohorts for a 48-month trial duration., Intervention: The 2-year intervention consisted of personal goal setting and encouragement to engage in monthly health coaching, an online weight loss intervention, a small grant, and three workshops delivering stress management and theological content supporting healthy behaviors. Participants were not blinded to intervention., Main Outcome Measures: Trial outcomes were metabolic syndrome (primary) and self-reported stress and depressive symptoms (secondary). Intervention effects were estimated in 2016 in an intention-to-treat framework using generalized estimating equations with adjustment for baseline level of the outcome and follow-up time points. Log-link Poisson generalized estimating equations with robust SEs was used to estimate prevalence ratios (PRs) for binary outcomes; mean differences were used for continuous/score outcomes., Results: Baseline prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 50.9% and depression was 11.4%. The 12-month intervention effect showed a benefit for metabolic syndrome (PR=0.86, 95% CI=0.79, 0.94, p<0.001). This benefit was sustained at 24 months of intervention (PR=0.88; 95% CI=0.78, 1.00, p=0.04). There was no significant effect on depression or stress scores., Conclusions: The Spirited Life intervention improved metabolic syndrome prevalence in a population of U.S. Christian clergy and sustained improvements during 24 months of intervention. These findings offer support for long-duration behavior change interventions and population-level interventions that allow participants to set their own health goals., Trial Registration: This study is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT01564719., (Copyright © 2017 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

As community leaders, clergy are well-positioned to impact the health of their congregants. Clergy's conceptualizations of health influence their own self-care and how they minister to others. Interviews and focus group discussions on health conceptualizations and health-seeking behaviors were conducted with 49 United Methodist Church clergy in Western Kenya. Data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological methods. Participants defined health holistically using an environmental health model. Some participants reported not seeking health care so their congregants would believe that their faith kept them healthy. Participants who believed that health comes directly from God reported seeking health care less often. Participants also reported combining traditional indigenous medicine with Western medicine. This study has implications for health promotion among Kenyan clergy and offers the first study of health conceptualization among clergy in Africa.

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]

Research indicating high rates of chronic disease among some clergy groups highlights the need for health programming for clergy. Like any group united by similar beliefs and norms, clergy may find culturally tailored health programming more accessible and effective. There is an absence of research on what aspects clergy find important for clergy health programs. We conducted 11 focus groups with United Methodist Church pastors and district superintendents. Participants answered open-ended questions about clergy health program desires and ranked program priorities from a list of 13 possible programs. Pastors prioritized health club memberships, retreats, personal trainers, mental health counseling, and spiritual direction. District superintendents prioritized for pastors: physical exams, peer support groups, health coaching, retreats, health club memberships, and mental health counseling. District superintendents prioritized for themselves: physical exams, personal trainers, health coaching, retreats, and nutritionists. Additionally, through qualitative analysis, nine themes emerged concerning health and health programs: (a) clergy defined health holistically, and they expressed a desire for (b) schedule flexibility, (c) accessibility in rural areas, (d) low cost programs, (e) institutional support, (f) education on physical health, and (g) the opportunity to work on their health in connection with others. They also expressed concern about (h) mental health stigma and spoke about (i) the tension between prioritizing healthy behaviors and fulfilling vocational responsibilities. The design of future clergy health programming should consider these themes and the priorities clergy identified for health programming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]