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

Kelsey R Day; John A Bernhart; Sara Wilcox

doi:10.1007/s10943-024-02012-9

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

J Relig Health. 2024 Mar 25. doi: 10.1007/s10943-024-02012-9. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Kelsey R Day^{1

2}, John A Bernhart^{3

4}, Sara Wilcox^{3

5}

Affiliations

¹ Prevention Research Center, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA. krday@email.sc.edu.
² Department of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA. krday@email.sc.edu.
³ Prevention Research Center, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
⁴ Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
⁵ Department of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.

PMID: 38528275
DOI: 10.1007/s10943-024-02012-9

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Church leaders; Churches; Faith-based; Nutrition; Physical activity.

Abstract

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