title: Shaking and rattling: developing a child obesity prevention program using a faith-based community approach.
abstract: This article describes the creation of a faith-based, community action research intervention aimed at reducing childhood obesity among a vulnerable population. Of particular concern to the community was the prevalence of obesity among its minority children. Engaging parents in a childhood obesity initiative through faith-based organizations (churches, community organizations with a common religious focus) was a method to provide a research intervention. It is important for researchers to be culturally competent, employ community-based participatory research methods, carefully plan interventions that have clear outcome criteria, and build evaluation of the process into every step of the research.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University ofTexas Medical Branch, 301 University Blvd, Galveston, TX 77555, USA. elreifsn@utmb.edu
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Reifsnider
authors.forename: Martha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hargraves
authors.forename: Karen Jaynes
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cooks
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hall
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services; D018672:Community Health Planning / Q000379:methods*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D008913:Minority Groups; D009765:Obesity / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010290:Parents; D012068:Religion and Medicine