Utility of a congregational health assessment to identify and direct health promotion opportunities in churches

• Churches can assist with assessment of health issues in their congregations.
• We describe a method for assessing health in congregations.
• We describe the data and compare findings to state- and national-level data.
• Churches are able to partner with researchers to assess congregational health.
• The data has the potential to be used for strategic health planning in churches.

PurposeThe church is a focal point for health education efforts in minority communities due to its status as one of the most prominent and stable institutions. This paper highlights an approach for identifying health programming targets in minority churches.MethodsTwenty-four churches participated in a one-year Health Ministry Institute (HMI), designed to help churches develop sustainable ministries for health promotion. HMI attendees were instructed on conducting a Congregational Health Assessment (CHA) to identify prevalent health conditions and related behaviors in their churches. Churches collected CHAs over a one-month period. Data were analyzed and results were discussed during a HMI session and used to prioritize health-related issues that could be addressed at individual churches.ResultsSeventeen churches (71%) returned surveys (n = 887; 70% female; 73% African American). Prevalent health conditions, participation in health-promoting behaviors, interest in learning to live healthy, and interest in health ministry activities were identified using the CHA.ConclusionsThe CHA shows promise for health assessment, and can be used to identify health issues that are of interest and relevance to church congregants and leaders. The CHA may assist churches with implementing effective and sustainable programs to address the identified health issues.