Churches are a trusted resource in African American communities; however, little is known about their presentation of health care information. This study characterized health care information disseminated by 11 African American churches. Content analysis conducted on print media systematically collected over one year used a coding scheme with .77 intercoder reliability. Health care information ...

In this paper, we examine Black churches located in economically challenged neighborhoods in a northeastern US city. Employing the concepts of the organizational divide and Heek’s designactuality model, we conducted interviews with clergy at seven black churches to understand their level of ICT use and capacity to secure funding from the White House Office of Community and Faith-Based Initiativ...

key words: wall paintings, rocky hewn churches, Cappadocia (Turkey), pigments, Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry This paper presents the results of the analysis on the rock hewn wall paintings of eleven churches in Cappadocia, Turkey. A large group of churches in the region of Nevşehir were analysed in order to increase the database of materials and techniques of medie...

There is little documentation about the recruitment process for church-based health education programs. In this study, the authors recruit African American, Latino, and white churches and women members (age 50 to 80) for a randomized church-based trial of mammography promotion in Los Angeles County. Efforts to enhance recruitment began 10 months before churches were invited to participate and i...

Prevailing theory claims that churches thrive when they overcome the free-rider problem. However, this paper argues that religious organizations need free-riders in a dynamic setting. If individuals’ contributions to congregations increase as their exposure to religion increases, then allowing potential members to free-ride temporarily may increase future membership and contribution levels. Fre...

BACKGROUND Use of technology is increasing in health promotion and has continued growth potential in intervention research. Guided by the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework, this paper reports on the adoption, reach, and implementation of Project HEAL (Health through Early Awareness and Learning)-a community-based implementation trial of a cancer...

Use of holy springs and holy water is inherent in religious activities. Holy spring water is also used extensively for personal drinking water, although not assessed according to drinking water standards. Holy water in churches and chapels may cause infections via wetting of lips and sprinkling on persons. Our aim was to assess the microbiological and chemical water quality of holy springs and ...

BACKGROUND This study evaluated the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a church-based intervention to promote physical activity (PA) in children. METHODS The study was conducted in 4 churches located in 2 large metropolitan areas and 2 regional towns in Kansas. Churches in the intervention condition implemented the "Shining Like Stars" physical activity curriculum module during their reg...

Mediaeval churches hold substantial historical and cultural values, organs, altars, paintings that need to be preserved. Many of these churches have no climate control systems installed. Thus the indoor climate is mainly determined by the outdoor climate. Focus in this study is on the possibilities to improve indoor climate in originally unheated churches to prevent and protect churches from mo...

OBJECTIVES The Black church has a long history of addressing unmet health and human service needs, yet few studies have examined characteristics of churches involved in health promotion. METHODS Data obtained from a survey of 635 Black churches in the northern United States were examined. Univariate and multivariate statistical procedures identified eight characteristics associated with commu...