Shaking and rattling: developing a child obesity prevention program using a faith-based community approach.
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.
Reifsnider
Elizabeth
E
School of Nursing, University ofTexas Medical Branch, 301 University Blvd, Galveston, TX 77555, USA. elreifsn@utmb.edu
Hargraves
Martha
M
Williams
Karen Jaynes
KJ
Cooks
John
J
Hall
Valerie
V
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