Engaging Partners in Caring Communities (EPICC)

The goal of the EPICC observational study is to learn about capacity to implement evidence-based health promotion programs (EBPs) in congregations that are offered semi-structured technical assistance (TA). Congregational teams will complete an implementation capacity assessment survey before the TA is offered and 10 months later, after TA has been provided for up to 10 months. Participating congregations will be a convenience sample of congregations in Davidson County, TN that serve primarily African American communities.

Study Overview

• Status: Enrolling by invitation
• Conditions: Chronic Disease Prevention
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Technical assistance is designed to integrate Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC) strategies, and Getting To Outcomes-TA.

Detailed Description

The recruitment process is designed to provide a team of 3-5 volunteers from 40 congregations with information about five EBPs identified by the research team from which they are to choose one. The team completes one EPICC Survey for their congregation. The team is then offered up to 10 months of TA with the expectation that 2-3 months will be used for planning to launch the EBP, with 4-6 months for implementation. Each congregation will be asked to recruit a minimum of 8-10 members of the congregation to complete a brief report of health behaviors prior to launching of the EBP and repeating that report 6 months later to assess the impact of the EBP on their health behaviors.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 320

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Tennessee
    • Nashville, Tennessee, United States, 37209
      • Tennessee State University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Selected congregations are all in Davidson County, TN and self-identify as serving African Americans. The proportion of African Americans considered to be members of the congregation may fluctuate over time and will be estimated by church leaders. Some EB programs are designed to serve families and so there may be individuals participating in EB programs who are minors; however, no data will be obtained from minors.

Description

Inclusion Criteria: Adult (18 years and older) participants in the behavioral intervention (implemented health promotion program) in a congregation in Davidson County that has completed enrollment in the EPICC Project.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Individuals who are not enrolled in a health promotion program implemented in an EPICC congregation

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Intervention / Treatment

There will be a single cohort consisting of up to 40 congregations.; The study cohort will consist of up to 40 congregations in Davidson County, TN that that have had a physical location for at least a year, have approval from their leader, and have a tax ID will be eligible for enrollment. Each will be offered up to 10 months of at least 1 hour/month of technical assistance for implementing an evidence-based (EB) chronic disease prevention congregation-level intervention selected by the congregation from five identified by the study team. The study team identified the five EB Programs through a systematic search of federal websites, selecting those programs that address chronic diseases that disproportionately affect African Americans, that can be delivered by non-health care providers in community settings. The selected programs include materials, including facilitator guidance, that are downloadable at no charge

Behavioral: Technical assistance is designed to integrate Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC) strategies, and Getting To Outcomes-TA.; The TA is tailored to each congregation using the results of the implementation capacity survey completed by the congregation's team and materials from the EB Program selected by the congregation. The TA teams of two research staff are being trained and coached by Dr. Abe Wandersman, lead developer of Getting To Outcomes-TA (GTO-TA). TA sessions are audio-recorded and will be evaluated for fidelity to GTO-TA, and use of specific ERIC strategies.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Engaging Partners in Caring Communities (EPICC) Survey	The EPICC Survey was developed using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) and building on other surveys for measuring congregational readiness for health promotion. It consists of	Congregational teams complete the EPICC Survey at baseline and again 6-10 months later.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
My Own Health Report	This is a brief self-reported screening of health-related behavior that will be completed in REDCap. It includes items related to frequency of consumption of fruits, vegetables, and sugary beverages, strenuous exercise, stress, tobacco and alcohol use over the previous 7 days. There are also items about transportation access, housing and food security. Each congregation will be asked to recruit 8-10 individuals who intend to participate in some aspect of the EB Program being implemented by the church. These individuals will be guided to create a unique ID number they can remember so that their reports are anonymous.	My Own Health Report will be completed when the congregation launches their health promotion program and again 6 months later.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Tennessee State University
• Collaborators: National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• The EPICC website is an evolving source of information about the project, and will eventually include information from participating congregations that they ask to have shared.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): June 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): April 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): April 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 10, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 10, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): April 17, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 17, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 10, 2025
• Last Verified: April 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: implementation science; health disparities; health equity; community-engaged research; faith-based organizations
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Disease Attributes; Chronic Disease
• Other Study ID Numbers: #HS2021-4674

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED
• IPD Plan Description: We will discuss this with congregations that enroll in the study. They will be given the option of allowing or prohibiting sharing of individual data from My Own Health Report.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No