Barriers and Facilitators to 24-Month Maintenance of the Faith, Activity, and Nutrition Program in the U.S

• Published in: Journal of religion and health Vol. 63; no. 4; pp. 3134 - 3157
• Main Authors: Day, Kelsey R., Bernhart, John A., Wilcox, Sara
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.08.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Advisors; Aging; Chronic illnesses; Clinical Psychology; Diet, Healthy; Exercise - psychology; Female; Health care; Health promotion; Health Promotion - methods; Humans; Intervention; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Nutrition; Original Paper; Program Evaluation - methods; Public Health; Qualitative Research; Religion; Religious organizations; Religious Studies; Research centers; South Carolina; Success; United States; Wellness programs; United States; South Carolina; Church leaders; Faith-based; Physical activity; Nutrition; Churches
• ISSN: 0022-4197; 1573-6571; 1573-6571
• DOI: 10.1007/s10943-024-02012-9

Little is known about the barriers and facilitators to organizational maintenance of faith-based health promotion programs. This study used qualitative data (collected from 2016–2019) from pastors ( n  = 81) and program coordinators ( n  = 103) to identify barriers and facilitators to 24-month maintenance of a faith-based physical activity (PA) and healthy eating (HE) intervention in South Carolina. Barriers differed for PA versus HE: resistance to change impeded HE while church characteristics tended to impede PA. Similar themes emerged for PA and HE facilitators: healthy opportunities, church communication, and consistency. Future research should build upon this study to tailor faith-based health promotion programs for long-term sustainability.