Dissemination and Implementation of Faith, Activity, and Nutrition

Faith, Activity, and Nutrition: Dissemination in Underserved Communities

This dissemination and implementation study will examine the impact of the Faith, Activity, and Nutrition (FAN) program on both church practices and member behaviors in both a countywide (randomized trial) and statewide (quasi-experimental) study. Guided by two theoretical frameworks, the specific aims of the applied research project are to: 1) examine the adoption and reach of FAN in churches and organizational factors associated with adoption; 2) characterize implementation fidelity and multilevel factors associated with implementation; 3) describe organizational maintenance of FAN and factors associated with maintenance; and 4) study the effectiveness of FAN.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Physical Activity, Healthy Eating
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Immediate Intervention

Detailed Description

The USC PRC's applied research project will study the dissemination and implementation of an evidence-based program shown previously to significantly increase physical activity and fruit and vegetable intake in churches in South Carolina (Faith, Activity, and Nutrition; FAN). Guided by two theoretical frameworks, the specific aims of the applied research project are to: 1) examine the adoption and reach of FAN in churches and organizational factors associated with adoption; 2) characterize implementation fidelity and multilevel factors associated with implementation; 3) describe organizational maintenance of FAN and factors associated with maintenance; and 4) study the effectiveness of FAN. In Phase 1, churches in a rural county with a high proportion of African American residents will be randomized to receive training in FAN from a community health advisor (n=40) or to be part of a delayed intervention control group (n=20). In Phase 2, a quasi-experimental study will be done with a large religious denomination in SC (churches are not randomized).

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 1807
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • South Carolina
    • Clemson, South Carolina, United States, 29634
      • Clemson University
    • Columbia, South Carolina, United States, 29208
      • University of South Carolina
    • Winnsboro, South Carolina, United States, 29180
      • Fairfield Behavioral Health Services

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Phase 1 churches: church in Fairfield County, SC with at least 20 members who regularly attend worship service
• Phase 2 churches: church in the SC Conference of the United Methodist Church
• Members (phase 1): adult who regularly attends church participating in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

• Members (phase 1): under the age of 18
• Members (phase 1): does not regularly attend church participating in the study

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Immediate intervention; Training of church committee followed by 12 months of technical assistance phone calls.	Behavioral: Immediate Intervention; Committees from 40 churches will be trained in the Faith, Activity, and Nutrition program by Community Health Advisors. The training focuses on helping churches create healthier church environments for physical activity and healthy eating using Cohen's structural model of health behavior as a guide. Each church committee participates in a full-day training and submits a program plan and budget. Churches receive materials to support implementation of the program. After the full-day training, trained churches receive 12 monthly technical assistance calls to help them implement their program plan. The church coordinator receives 8 calls and the pastor receives 4 calls over the 12 months. In Phase 2, the intervention is open to any church in the SC Conference of the United Methodist Church.; Other Names: Faith, Activity, and Nutrition
No Intervention: Delayed intervention; 20 churches are followed but receive no intervention.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Adoption	(# of eligible churches that are trained / # of eligible churches)*100	12 months
Reach	(# of church members in trained churches / # of members of all eligible churches)*100	12 months
Implementation fidelity	Composite score consisting of implementation of core elements of the intervention	12 months
Maintenance	organization maintenance of the intervention based on leader reports	24 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
physical activity	Self-reported proportion of members meeting physical activity recommendations using (only for phase 1 of study)	12 months
fruit and vegetable intake	Self-reported cups per day of fruits and vegetables (only for phase 1 of study)	12 months
Self-efficacy for physical activity	Self-reported self-efficacy for physical activity (average of scale items) (only for phase 1 of study)	12 months
Self-efficacy for fruit and vegetable intake	Self-reported self-efficacy for fruit and vegetable intake (average of scale items) (only for phase 1 of study)	12 months

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Church environment	Church environmental factors that impede or promote physical activity and healthy eating, assessed through staff observations (only for phase 1 of study)	12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of South Carolina
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Sara J Wilcox, PhD, University of South Carolina

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Wilcox S, Day KR, Saunders RP, Jake-Schoffman DE, Kaczynski AT, Stucker J, Dunn CG, Bernhart JA. The Faith, Activity, and Nutrition (FAN) dissemination and implementation study: changes in and maintenance of organizational practices over 24 months in a statewide initiative. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2022 Mar 2;19(1):23. doi: 10.1186/s12966-022-01253-9.
• Wilcox S, Saunders RP, Jake-Schoffman D, Hutto B. The Faith, Activity, and Nutrition (FAN) Dissemination and Implementation Study: 24-Month Organizational Maintenance in a Countywide Initiative. Front Public Health. 2020 May 14;8:171. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.00171. eCollection 2020.
• Wilcox S, Saunders RP, Kaczynski AT, Forthofer M, Sharpe PA, Goodwin C, Condrasky M, Kennedy VL Sr, Jake-Schoffman DE, Kinnard D, Hutto B. Faith, Activity, and Nutrition Randomized Dissemination and Implementation Study: Countywide Adoption, Reach, and Effectiveness. Am J Prev Med. 2018 Jun;54(6):776-785. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2018.02.018. Epub 2018 Apr 12.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 1, 2015
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 1, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): September 1, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 12, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 11, 2016
• First Posted (Estimate): August 16, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 28, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 26, 2021
• Last Verified: April 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: physical activity; nutrition; fruits and vegetables; faith-based; churches
• Other Study ID Numbers: Pro00036222

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO