Over the decades the Church has been the lifeline for people living in minority communities. Its long history of providing an environment for spiritual growth and support has given people of color the strength to survive the many societal pressures which they encounter daily. Since the church plays a major role in the lives of a large percentage of ethnic populations across the range of socioeconomic strata, we propose implementation of a church-based educational program focusing on risk factor reduction and promotion of spirituality and wholeness.

Project FAITH (Fellowship and Instruction Toward Health)
is an educational program designed to improve the overall health of minority populations. The target population at this time are African Americans and Latinos but could be rolled out to people of color both nationally and internationally. Project FAITH addresses several key areas that are receiving a great deal of attention at local, regional and federal levels.

These include:

• Health care disparities among minority populations
• Issues of access and barriers to education and treatment
• "The Digital Divide"
• Need for more community and/or faith based outreach programs vs. continuing to support University and Research based programs.

Project FAITH is a collaborative effort of Black and Brown Sugar, Black Health Network and Total Lifestyle Change. Collectively they have developed an innovative approach directed at providing culturally sensitive health care information to the under-served minority population. Educational information will focus on those disease states that disproportionately affect the minority communities. Information will be provided in an environment that is comfortable, easy to access and practical. This will overcome the barriers of access and delivery that have plagued educational 400

programs in the past. Religious based organizations (churches) have been selected as the initial educational venue for the program.

There are eight primary objectives for Project FAITH:

1) Identify members of the church congregation that have one or more of the cardiovascular risk factors (i.e. diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol, obesity, smoking, family history, age). This will be accomplished through a Health Fair / Screening that will be conducted at the church site. The screening tests will include: measuring blood glucose, blood pressure, blood cholesterol levels, %body fat, and nutrition and exercise status. A two-hour Health Forum will be provided prior to the Health Fair by minority physicians to provide information on the health topics mentioned above along with a questions and answer period.

2) Measure the participants' perception of their quality of life and knowledge about the diseases that disproportionately affect African Americans (i.e. Hypertension, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases (coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure) breast /prostrate cancer, and HIV/AIDS. We will also measure the perception of participants regarding their access to the health care system and perceived barriers to care.

3) Assess the participants' readiness for behavioral change by utilizing the "Transtheoretical Model of Change".

4) Implement an education and training program with health educators and members of the congregation that have some background in health sciences. The educational program will be provided in a group setting utilizing African American physicians, nurses, dieticians and health educators.

5) Establish a web-based resource center at the church with educational materials and audio-visual aids providing information on the diseases that disproportionately affect African Americans (i.e. Diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, breast/prostate cancer, HIV/AID).

6) Develop an educational Internet site for viewing of consumer oriented medical presentations via web cast. Minority based video programming will occur along with "live/real-time" broadcasting of medical experts for questions and answers sessions.

7) Emphasize the benefits of prayer and meditation and their relationship to improved health. A concordance of bible verses will be provided that addresses the FAITH messages and HEALTH messages that are in the bible.

8) Establish a community based linkages with health care systems and health organizations that
will provide ongoing education and follow-up to the churches that participate in the program.

Outcome evaluation will be done through pre and post-test measurement of the clinical and behavioral measures.