title: Disease Messaging in Churches: Implications for Health in African-American Communities.
abstract: Using the right messaging strategies, churches can help promote behavior change. Frequencies of disease-specific messages in 21 African-American churches were compared to overall and cancer-specific mortality and morbidity rates as well as church-level variables. Disease messages were found in 1025 of 2166 items. Frequently referenced topics included cancer (n = 316), mental health conditions (n = 253), heart disease (n = 246), and infectious diseases (n = 220). Messages for lung and colorectal cancers appeared at low frequency despite high mortality rates in African-American communities. Season, church size, and denomination showed significant associations with health messages. Next steps include testing messaging strategies aimed at improving the health of churchgoing communities.
authors: Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Memphis, 200 Robison Hall, Memphis, TN, 38152, USA. bharmon1@memphis.edu.
authors: Brook E
authors: BE
authors: Harmon
authors: John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA.
authors: Marci
authors: M
authors: Chock
authors: Southeastern Insurance Consultants, LLC, Columbia, SC, USA.|Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
authors: Elizabeth
authors: E
authors: Brantley
authors: Cancer Prevention and Control Program, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
authors: Michael D
authors: MD
authors: Wirth
authors: Cancer Prevention and Control Program, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.|Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
authors: James R
authors: JR
authors: Hébert
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American; D005260:Female; D058015:Health Communication / Q000379:methods*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012067:Religion; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D013022:South Carolina
keywords: African Americans; Disease prevention; Health communication