Bopp Melissa, Webb Benjamin
The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, USA.
Health Promot Pract. 2012 Sep;13(5):679-86. doi: 10.1177/1524839911433466. Epub 2012 Apr 4.
INTRODUCTION. In the United States, megachurches (churches with 2,000+ attendance) represent a community institution with extensive reach within the population. Despite this potential for reach, the current health promotion practices of megachurches are unknown. This study aimed to document current health promotion activities and resources for health promotion in megachurches.
Staff at megachurches were recruited to take an online survey of health promotion programs, health promotion-related beliefs, barriers, and existing resources.
Respondents (n = 110 churches) indicated that churches were primarily Baptist (23.6%) or nondenominational (21.1%), had 2,500 to 4,999 congregation members (44.5%), primarily White congregation members (83.5%), and 31 to 60 employees (45.4%). Churches reported 4.73 ± 2.54 activities/year, most commonly reporting clubs or teams related to physical activity (74.5%), hands-on classes (65.5%), and educational activities (59.1%). Most churches (39.1%) reported their primary faith leader was minimally involved in health-related activities. The most common barrier was competition for time/space with other church activities (46.2%). Churches reported several employee health-related policies. Respondents reported a budget of $0 to $499/year for health-related programs (44.4%).
These findings provide insight regarding the current status of health promotion in megachurches. These large churches are a potential health promotion partner for researchers and practitioners for developing culturally tailored interventions.
引言。在美国，大型教会（出席人数达2000人以上的教会）是一种在民众中具有广泛影响力的社区机构。尽管具有这种广泛影响力的潜力，但大型教会当前的健康促进实践情况尚不清楚。本研究旨在记录大型教会当前的健康促进活动以及用于健康促进的资源。
招募大型教会的工作人员进行一项关于健康促进项目、与健康促进相关的信念、障碍及现有资源的在线调查。
受访者（n = 110个教会）表示，教会主要是浸信会（23.6%）或无教派（21.1%），有2500至4999名会众成员（44.5%），主要是白人会众成员（83.5%），以及31至60名员工（45.4%）。教会报告每年开展4.73 ± 2.54项活动，最常报告的是与体育活动相关的俱乐部或团队（74.5%）、实践课程（65.5%）和教育活动（59.1%）。大多数教会（39.1%）报告其主要宗教领袖极少参与与健康相关的活动。最常见的障碍是与其他教会活动在时间/空间上存在竞争（46.2%）。教会报告了几项与员工健康相关的政策。受访者报告每年用于健康相关项目的预算为0至499美元（44.4%）。
这些发现为大型教会健康促进的现状提供了见解。这些大型教会对于研究人员和从业者而言，是开发文化适应性干预措施的潜在健康促进合作伙伴。
