title: Promoting Policy and Environmental Change in Faith-Based Organizations: Description and Findings From a Mini-Grants Program.
abstract: The Emory Prevention Research Center's Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network mini-grant program funded faith-based organizations to implement policy and environmental change to promote healthy eating and physical activity in rural South Georgia. This study describes the existing health promotion environment and its relationship to church member behavior.
  
  
  
  Cross-sectional.
  
  
  
  Data were obtained from parishioners of six churches in predominantly rural South Georgia.
  
  
  
  Participants were 319 church members with average age of 48 years, of whom 80% were female and 84% were black/African-American.
  
  
  
  Questionnaires assessed perceptions of the existing church health promotion environment relative to nutrition and physical activity, eating behavior and intention to use physical activity facilities at church, and eating and physical activity behaviors outside of church.
  
  
  
  Multiple regression and ordinal logistic regression using generalized estimating equations were used to account for clustered data.
  
  
  
  Results indicate that delivering messages via sermons and church bulletins, having healthy eating programs, and serving healthy foods are associated with participants' self-reported consumption of healthy foods at church (all p values ≤ .001). Serving more healthy food and less unhealthy food was associated with healthier eating in general but not to physical activity in general (p values ≤ .001).
  
  
  
  The church environment may play an important role in supporting healthy eating in this setting and more generally.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Kimberly R Jacob
authors.initials: KRJ
authors.lastname: Arriola
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: April
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hermstad
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Shauna St Clair
authors.initials: SSC
authors.lastname: Flemming
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Honeycutt
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Michelle L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.affiliation: 2 University of Georgia, College of Public Health, Athens, Georgia.
authors.forename: Sabrina T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Cherry
authors.affiliation: 3 Department of Nursing, Albany State University College of Sciences and Health Professions, Albany, Georgia.
authors.forename: Tamara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: 4 Southwest Georgia Regional Interfaith Coalition, Albany, Georgia.
authors.forename: Sheritta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Frazier
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Cam
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Escoffery
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Michelle C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Kegler
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D004777:Environment; D015444:Exercise; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005845:Georgia; D006291:Health Policy; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012067:Religion; D012424:Rural Population; D012931:Social Environment
keywords: Health focus: fitness/physical activity; Nutrition Policy, Social Environment, Religion, Exercise, Prevention Research. Manuscript format: research; Outcome measure: behavioral, Setting: local community; Research purpose: modeling/relationship testing; Strategy: nutrition, policy; Study design: nonexperimental; Target population age: adults; Target population circumstances: geographic location