The FAN program plan: Creating a healthy church environment for physical activity and healthy eating
Background: Faith, Activity, & Nutrition (FAN) helps churches create a healthier environment for physical activity (PA) and healthy eating (HE) through policy, systems, and environmental changes. Objective: The purpose of this paper is to describe the implementation, evaluation, and revision...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2022-12-01
|
| Series: | Dialogues in Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772653322000193 |
| _version_ | 1828168448836894720 |
|---|---|
| author | John A. Bernhart Caroline G. Dunn Sara Wilcox Jessica Stucker Deborah Kinnard |
| author_facet | John A. Bernhart Caroline G. Dunn Sara Wilcox Jessica Stucker Deborah Kinnard |
| author_sort | John A. Bernhart |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Faith, Activity, & Nutrition (FAN) helps churches create a healthier environment for physical activity (PA) and healthy eating (HE) through policy, systems, and environmental changes. Objective: The purpose of this paper is to describe the implementation, evaluation, and revision of the FAN Program Plan across a two-phase study to help churches create guidelines and policies for PA and HE. Methods: In Phase 1, church committees attended trainings led by Community Health Advisors (CHA) where they assessed current practices to PA and HE. Committees used the FAN Program Plan to outline an implementation plan to increase opportunities, programs, messages, pastor support, and guidelines/practices for PA and HE. FAN Program Plans were submitted to the research team for review. Findings from Phase 1 plans directed revisions in program materials for Phase 2, where the submission and review processes were repeated. Results: Review of Phase 1 FAN Program Plans (53/54 churches submitted a Program Plan) revealed that church committees confused guidelines/practices with programs and had trouble differentiating programs for PA and HE from providing opportunities (i.e., building PA/HE into existing events). The CHA training, FAN church committee training, FAN Program Plan, and other documents were revised to use the term “guidelines (policies)” instead of “guidelines/practices.” In addition, CHAs facilitated a training section on guidelines (policies) to committees, and a guidelines (policies) section was added in the FAN Program Plan and other program documents. These changes in Phase 2 were helpful for differentiating policies from programs and programs from opportunities in FAN Program Plans (53/115 churches submitted a Program Plan), although some confusion remained. Conclusions: This study underscored challenges churches may have in setting policies for PA and HE and discusses strategies to address these challenges in future faith-based initiatives. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T02:33:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-165ee7e3418743f589ff0e0ecb0326cd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2772-6533 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T02:33:55Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Dialogues in Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-165ee7e3418743f589ff0e0ecb0326cd2022-12-22T03:51:37ZengElsevierDialogues in Health2772-65332022-12-011100019The FAN program plan: Creating a healthy church environment for physical activity and healthy eatingJohn A. Bernhart0Caroline G. Dunn1Sara Wilcox2Jessica Stucker3Deborah Kinnard4Prevention Research Center, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, United States of America; Department of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, United States of AmericaPrevention Research Center, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, United States of America; Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, United States of AmericaPrevention Research Center, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, United States of America; Department of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, United States of America; Corresponding author at: Public Health Research Center, 921 Assembly Street, Columbia, SC 29208, United States of America; wilcoxs@mailbox.sc.eduPrevention Research Center, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, United States of AmericaPrevention Research Center, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, United States of AmericaBackground: Faith, Activity, & Nutrition (FAN) helps churches create a healthier environment for physical activity (PA) and healthy eating (HE) through policy, systems, and environmental changes. Objective: The purpose of this paper is to describe the implementation, evaluation, and revision of the FAN Program Plan across a two-phase study to help churches create guidelines and policies for PA and HE. Methods: In Phase 1, church committees attended trainings led by Community Health Advisors (CHA) where they assessed current practices to PA and HE. Committees used the FAN Program Plan to outline an implementation plan to increase opportunities, programs, messages, pastor support, and guidelines/practices for PA and HE. FAN Program Plans were submitted to the research team for review. Findings from Phase 1 plans directed revisions in program materials for Phase 2, where the submission and review processes were repeated. Results: Review of Phase 1 FAN Program Plans (53/54 churches submitted a Program Plan) revealed that church committees confused guidelines/practices with programs and had trouble differentiating programs for PA and HE from providing opportunities (i.e., building PA/HE into existing events). The CHA training, FAN church committee training, FAN Program Plan, and other documents were revised to use the term “guidelines (policies)” instead of “guidelines/practices.” In addition, CHAs facilitated a training section on guidelines (policies) to committees, and a guidelines (policies) section was added in the FAN Program Plan and other program documents. These changes in Phase 2 were helpful for differentiating policies from programs and programs from opportunities in FAN Program Plans (53/115 churches submitted a Program Plan), although some confusion remained. Conclusions: This study underscored challenges churches may have in setting policies for PA and HE and discusses strategies to address these challenges in future faith-based initiatives.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772653322000193Community health promotionFaith-basedNutritionExerciseEvaluation |
| spellingShingle | John A. Bernhart Caroline G. Dunn Sara Wilcox Jessica Stucker Deborah Kinnard The FAN program plan: Creating a healthy church environment for physical activity and healthy eating Dialogues in Health Community health promotion Faith-based Nutrition Exercise Evaluation |
| title | The FAN program plan: Creating a healthy church environment for physical activity and healthy eating |
| title_full | The FAN program plan: Creating a healthy church environment for physical activity and healthy eating |
| title_fullStr | The FAN program plan: Creating a healthy church environment for physical activity and healthy eating |
| title_full_unstemmed | The FAN program plan: Creating a healthy church environment for physical activity and healthy eating |
| title_short | The FAN program plan: Creating a healthy church environment for physical activity and healthy eating |
| title_sort | fan program plan creating a healthy church environment for physical activity and healthy eating |
| topic | Community health promotion Faith-based Nutrition Exercise Evaluation |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772653322000193 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT johnabernhart thefanprogramplancreatingahealthychurchenvironmentforphysicalactivityandhealthyeating AT carolinegdunn thefanprogramplancreatingahealthychurchenvironmentforphysicalactivityandhealthyeating AT sarawilcox thefanprogramplancreatingahealthychurchenvironmentforphysicalactivityandhealthyeating AT jessicastucker thefanprogramplancreatingahealthychurchenvironmentforphysicalactivityandhealthyeating AT deborahkinnard thefanprogramplancreatingahealthychurchenvironmentforphysicalactivityandhealthyeating AT johnabernhart fanprogramplancreatingahealthychurchenvironmentforphysicalactivityandhealthyeating AT carolinegdunn fanprogramplancreatingahealthychurchenvironmentforphysicalactivityandhealthyeating AT sarawilcox fanprogramplancreatingahealthychurchenvironmentforphysicalactivityandhealthyeating AT jessicastucker fanprogramplancreatingahealthychurchenvironmentforphysicalactivityandhealthyeating AT deborahkinnard fanprogramplancreatingahealthychurchenvironmentforphysicalactivityandhealthyeating |