title: Project Joy: faith based cardiovascular health promotion for African American women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The authors tested the impact on cardiovascular risk profiles of African American women ages 40 years and older after one year of participation in one of three church-based nutrition and physical activity strategies: a standard behavioral group intervention, the standard intervention supplemented with spiritual strategies, or self-help strategies.
  
  
  METHODS
  Women were screened at baseline and after one year of participation. The authors analyzed intention-to-treat within group and between groups using a generalized estimating equations adjustment for intra-church clustering. Because spiritual strategies were added to the standard intervention by participants themselves, the results from both active groups were similar and, thus, combined for comparisons with the self-help group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 529 women from 16 churches enrolled. Intervention participants exhibited significant improvements in body weight (-1.1 lbs), waist circumference (-0.66 inches), systolic blood pressure (-1.6 mmHg), dietary energy (-117 kcal), dietary total fat (-8 g), and sodium intake (-145 mg). The self-help group did not. In the active intervention group, women in the top decile for weight loss at one year had even larger, clinically meaningful changes in risk outcomes (-19.8 lbs).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Intervention participants achieved clinically important improvements in cardiovascular disease risk profiles one year after program initiation, which did not occur in the self-help group. Church-based interventions can significantly benefit the cardiovascular health of African American women.
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Promotion, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA. lryanek@welch.jhu.edu
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Yanek
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: T F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Moy
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gittelsohn
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Koffman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology*; D000368:Aged; D015142:Baltimore; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D015438:Health Behavior; D006266:Health Education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000502:physiology; D011322:Primary Prevention; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012648:Self Care; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012657:Self-Help Groups; D029181:Spirituality