title: US religious congregations and the sponsorship of health-related programs.
abstract: Despite consistent evidence that religious congregations provide health-related programs for their members and residents of the local community, little is known about the distribution of congregation-based health programs across the United States. Using a nationally representative sample of US congregations (n=1230) we employ bivariate analysis and logistic regression to identify patterns in the sponsorship of health-related programs by religious congregations; we then propose and test various explanations for these observed patterns. Our findings contradict the impressions given by case studies and the program evaluation literature and suggest: a) that congregation-based health programs may not be serving the neediest communities; and b) that congregations are not taking advantage of mechanisms intended to facilitate the provision of health-related services by religious congregations.
authors.affiliation: Arizona State University, School of Social and Family Dynamics, Tempe, AZ 85287-3701, USA. jenny.trinitapoli@asu.edu
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Trinitapoli
authors.forename: Christopher G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Ellison
authors.forename: Jason D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Boardman
mesh_terms: D006293:Health Promotion; D016015:Logistic Models; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D014481:United States