Without such critical insights, researchers often develop topical foci and approaches before engaging faith communities in health-promotion activities. 13Īlthough these efforts have provided critical insights into how congregations integrate health-promotion programming into their ministries, they do not necessarily address an issue of fundamental importance to academic–faith partnerships: ministers’ perceptions of community health priorities and health-promotion preferences. 12 This potential role of information transmission constitutes a theme in faith-based settings and health promotion. 12 Church leaders indicated that displaying health information and incorporating health messaging in sermons, hosting health fairs and foundation support, and providing church-based Internet access to health information were important aspects of health ministries. Carter-Edwards and colleagues administered a survey to church leaders to determine which programmatic attributes of health ministries are perceived as important. Congregations lacking such a ministry implicate inadequate resources rather than lack of enthusiasm. Ministers whose congregations maintain a health ministry tend to be actively involved in such efforts. Results suggest that most congregations aspire to engage in health-promotion and disease-prevention support services. Catanzaro and colleagues 11 engaged nearly 350 ministers from across the United States to assess whether their congregations maintained a health ministry and why, offering insights into the content and approach of these ministries’ operations and functions. Research into the role of faith communities in the health of their congregations and communities has begun to illustrate how and why faith-based health interventions may promote health. 7 Research demonstrates that many faith-based programs improve health. 5, 6 Most Americans (85% nationally, 90% in the South) claim religious affiliations, thereby offering excellent potential for participant recruitment and access to underrepresented populations. As community-owned institutions particularly among marginalized groups, churches have established trust and legitimacy, making them an ideal, trusted setting for providing and sustaining health programming. They bring key strengths to a research partnership: faith-based institutions (henceforth denoted here as “churches,” because, to our knowledge, few other religious institutions exist in Appalachian Kentucky) involve close social relationships, have an existing infrastructure, and play pivotal roles in the community. 3, 4įaith-based institutions can serve as key partners in the development, implementation, and analysis of health-promotion programming. 2 Among these community-based intervention opportunities, faith communities often have been important partners in community-based participatory research) projects, with faith-based programming demonstrating success for efforts in health promotion. 1 Although upstream population health interventions, including health equity transformation in policy, systems, and structures, offer wide-reaching potential for improving the health of the most underserved populations, community-based interventions also have the potential to decrease inequities in health care. The scope of Insights in Veterinary Science encompasses an opportunity and platform to explore veterinary science and research with a different approach and dimensions in order to identify the infrastructure and manpower needs as well as the adequacies and deficiencies in veterinary science and its related research efforts.Addressing health inequities requires focusing on multiple levels of determinants, including the appropriate provision of medical care, policies that influence access to such care, and public health initiatives that target community health concerns. Insights in Veterinary Science works with a holistic purpose to promote veterinary research as a fundamental human health activity. The manuscripts of Insights in Veterinary Science also strive to publish overall review of past and current veterinary research highlighting the importance of the health of wildlife and ecosystems to an increasingly urban and affluent society. The aim of Insights in Veterinary Science is to publish manuscripts that can lead to valuable contributions to enhance understanding related to veterinary science and related researches.
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