A 56-hour interdisciplinary, train-the-trainer model was developed for lay health ministers in African American churches in Tennessee. Workshops examined aging, health promotion, and prevention. The program increased networking and community resources but encountered problems in religion's effect on health beliefs and in the need for cultural…

Describes the development and testing of Reach Out For Health, a peer-led, church-based breast cancer education program for African American and Hispanic communities. Pretest-posttest evaluation of screening practices and attitudes among women over age 40 indicated that the intervention was associated with improved attitudes toward mammography,…

The pilot Ecumenical Child Health Project tested ways to coordinate local church activities aimed at improving young children's access to health care. Within a year, coordinators at 3 pilot sites had succeeded in initialing or enhancing several activities that linked health care to more than 1000 families and children living in medically…

Historically, religion and spirituality have been major influences in the social, cultural, and political lives of African Americans. Spirituality is deeply embedded into their rich cultural heritage, and it is intertwined into all aspects of their life, including beliefs about health and illness. For African Americans, health and illness are a…