Bright Spot: Faithful Families Eating Smart and Moving More (Faithful Families)
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
This bright spot was originally published in the 100 Million Healthier Lives Change Library and is brought to you through partnership with 100 Million Healthier Lives and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
Overview
Detailed Description
Faithful Families is a faith-based health promotion program that combines group classes on nutrition and physical activity with changes to the faith organization's policies and environments. Resources for the program include a 9-session Faithful Families curriculum and the Planning Guide for Faithful Families Eating Smart and Moving More (Planning Guide). The Faithful Families curriculum is co-taught by nutrition and physical activity educators and trained lay leaders from faith communities in small group sessions. Lay Leaders bring the spiritual elements into each session, through discussion questions and "Thinking it Through" prompts in each lesson. Each faith community conducts a Faith Community Health Assessment to prioritize the policies and environments they will change (e.g., provide water as a beverage option at all events).
*The Center for Training and Research Translation worked with Faithful Families developers to review the evidence in support of the intervention and develop detailed guidance on how to implement it in practice.
Expected Outcomes
Promotes healthy eating and physical activity in communities of faith (improvements in dietary intake, dietary behaviors and physical activity).
Failing Forward Moments
Well worth the effort to make initial contact with faith community leaders and lay leaders to discuss their responsibilities and to have your plan in place long before you start the classes. The updated 2016 curriculum includes a checklist and yearly timeline to assist in this process.
Cost Details
As of October 2016, the following costs are associated with this intervention: Each educator should have a copy of the curriculum. Ideally, each Lay Leader should also have a copy, since they will co-teach the lessons with the educator. The cost of the curriculum is $150 with $15/kit for shipping. Kits can be ordered by visiting FaithfulFamilies.com. If you provide recipe tastings during the classes, you will need approximately $100 to purchase food for the nine sessions. This cost does not include the equipment needed to prepare the recipes. This cost figure may depend on the foods and number of attendees. This estimate is for a food demonstration and tasting for 10-12 participants. "Skill Builders,” which are practical items such as shopping pads, cutting boards, cookbook, etc., are available for purchase from NC EFNEP for each of the sessions. A complete set of Skill Builders for a group of 10 costs approximately $150. Purchasing of Skill Builders is not necessary to complete the intervention but does offer tools to help participants practice at home what they learn in the session. Support for changes to the faith community environment related to physical activity and healthy eating may be required (for example: maintenance or signage for playgrounds or walking trails, signage to support healthy eating policies, cooking equipment to serve healthier foods, exercise equipment). Staff time and travel. May need printing to advertise program.
For latest cost details, please contact the program directly.
Key Steps for Implementation
- Identify a nutrition/physical activity educator. The program can be implemented by trained health education staff. To date, the program has been implemented through the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), SNAP-Education, local health departments, and local extension offices.
- Recruit faith communities. Recruit and train lay leaders in each faith community to help implement the program. Recruit faith community members to participate in the nine-lesson Faithful Families class series.
- Administer Faith Community Assessment to understand the assets and needs of the faith community related to healthy eating and physical activity. Faith community commits to and implements environmental policy changes.
- Evaluate successes challenges, using the Entry and Exit forms for class participants and repeating the Faith community Assessment. Revise program as needed.
Other Key Requirements
Lay leaders need to be enthusiastic about healthy eating and physical activity, and able to connect faith and health for their faith community members. Support from the faith community leader to begin the program is also key.
Partnerships
Local and state level Extension, health departments, hospitals, county-coalitions, and state-wide faith-based organizations are valuable partners.
Required Staffing (FTEs)
A nutrition/physical activity educator.
Special Funding
May be able to utilize health promotion funds or local funds budgeted for health promotion programs
Special Infrastructure
Kitchen (if cooking on site)
Each educator should have a copy of the curriculum. Ideally, each Lay Leader should also have a copy, since they will co-teach the lessons with the educator. "Skill Builders, which are practical items such as shopping pads, cutting boards, cookbook, etc., are available for purchase from NC EFNEP for each of the sessions. Purchasing of Skill Builders is not necessary to complete the intervention but does offer tools to help participants practice at home what they learn in the session.
Training
The educator will need training in the Faithful Families program. Training is available through NC State University. Contact Dr. Annie Hardison-Moody at amhardis@ncsu.edu.
Types of Staff
Health Educators from Extension, local Health Departments, or other health organizations
Outcome Measures
- Total number of physical activity PE changes implemented in all participating communities
- Total number of healthy eating PE changes implemented in all participating faith communities
- Percentage of Faithful Families class participants with increased knowledge about nutrition and PA
- Percentage of Faithful Families class participants with increased self-reported skills for food purchasing and preparation
Process Measures
- Number of faith communities adopting Faithful Families
- Number of faith community members reached by nutrition and physical activity sessions
- Percentage of each faith community membership reached by policy/environmental (PE) changes
- Number of faith community lay leaders who were trained
- Number of participating faith communities completing the faith community assessment
- Number of nutrition/physical activity (PA) sessions implemented within faith communities
- Number of healthy eating PE changes
- Number of physical activity PE changes
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