Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 North Wolfe St., E4614, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
Equal Justice Initiative, Montgomery, AL, USA.
J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2021 Feb;8(1):237-244. doi: 10.1007/s40615-020-00777-9. Epub 2020 May 29.
Congregational size has been most consistently linked with offering health-related programs. However, few studies have examined the unique contribution of congregational size when considering other factors and across a range of health topics including those identified as social determinants of health. The current study sought to fill this gap. Eighty-eight faith leaders from 63 Christian churches in Baltimore, Maryland, provided information about themselves, their congregations, and the programs offered in their congregations. Over half of the sample were Baptist, and 60% were women. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the extent to which congregational size was associated with the likelihood of having health programs. Results showed that faith leaders from larger congregations are significantly more likely to report having more programs overall and programs that specifically target health/health care and education, even after accounting for faith leader characteristics and denomination. However, both large and small churches had an equal likelihood of offering programs related to economic stability and social/community contexts. Our findings extend previous research and suggest important next steps for researchers and practitioners to consider on how best to involve congregations in health promotion and well-being among urban communities of color.
congregational size 一直与提供与健康相关的项目最密切相关。然而，很少有研究在考虑其他因素并涵盖包括被确定为健康的社会决定因素在内的一系列健康主题时，考察 congregational size 的独特贡献。本研究旨在填补这一空白。马里兰州巴尔的摩市 63 家基督教教堂的 88 位信仰领袖提供了有关他们自己、他们的教堂以及他们教堂提供的项目的信息。样本中有一半以上是浸礼会教徒，60%是女性。进行了逻辑回归分析，以检验 congregational size 与健康项目的可能性之间的关联程度。结果表明，来自大型教堂的信仰领袖更有可能报告总体上有更多的项目，并且专门针对健康/医疗保健和教育的项目，即使在考虑到信仰领袖的特征和教派之后也是如此。然而，大型和小型教堂提供与经济稳定和社会/社区背景相关的项目的可能性是相等的。我们的研究结果扩展了先前的研究，并为研究人员和从业者提供了重要的下一步思考，即如何最好地让教堂参与促进有色人种城市社区的健康和福祉。
