Tipping the scales on obesity: church-based health promotion for African American women.

Research suggests that over 80% of U.S. adult African American (AA) women are at risk for hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. In 2011-2012, 56.6% of non-Hispanic Black women were obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2). Project TEACH--Transforming, Empowering, and Affecting Congregation Health was designed to determine the effectiveness of a faith-based, culturally competent, nutrition and exercise program targeting AA women in a church setting.

Faith community nursing: Supporting Healthy People 2020 initiatives.

One innovative community-based setting to promote health is the faith community, where care is provided by a faith community nurse (FCN). This descriptive study describes the practice of FCNs, FCN functions and standards, identifies Healthy People 220 Leading Health Indicators being addressed by FCNs, and explores how the FCN model of community-based practice can support implementation of Healthy People 2020.

Faith community nursing: health and healing within a spiritual congregation.

Originally named parish nursing because of its beginnings in the Christian faith, the term faith community nursing (FCN) has been adopted to encompass nurses from other faiths. The American Nurses Association recognized parish nursing as a nursing specialty and, in collaboration with the Health Ministries Association, published the Scope and Standards of Parish Nursing Practice in 1998 (revised in 2005). In this article, the authors explore the philosophy, objectives, growth, and practice of this specialty.

Actors needed: clinical faculty get the call.

Simulation activities have been developed for many areas of nursing, but there are minimal nursing simulation activities in the area of mental health nursing. In this article, the authors describe development of mental health simulation activities for junior BSN students using clinical faculty as the standardized patients. Faculty who want to incorporate mental health simulations into their learning experiences can use the lessons learned from this project.

Hospital outreach to support faith community nursing.

A Faith Community Nurse (FCN) Program was initiated by a Magnet hospital and developed through collaboration between hospital departments and a university nurse educator. This article describes the program's development and activities that offer FCNs networking, free continuing education, and are an extension of the hospital's mission and values.

Parish nursing: holistic nursing care in faith communities.

Modern-day parish nursing is a specialized practice in professional nursing that addresses the spiritual, physical, and emotional health needs of clients within a faith community. Parish nursing care has been described as holistic care; however, few studies have focused on the holistic nature of parish nursing care. A qualitative study was conducted with the clients of parish nurses. Seventeen clients utilizing the services of 3 parish nurses in Christian faith communities participated in the study. Following the institutional review board approval, the clients were recruited with the assistance of the parish nurses. The clients completed a 7-item demographic questionnaire, followed by a face-to-face interview with the author who used a semistructured interview tool. The interview questions encompassed 6 aspects of parish nursing: education, personal counseling, health screenings, spiritual support, referrals, and health advocacy. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed by the author. The results of the study indicated that the clients in all 3 churches received holistic care from their parish nurses. The care they received addressed their spiritual, physical, and emotional health needs. Recommendations for future research and implications for the clinical practice of parish nursing, using a holistic approach, are included. The findings of future research and the holistic interventions of parish nurses could influence the funding and positions for parish nurses in the future.

Faith community nurses: implementing Healthy People standards to promote the health of elderly clients.

The face of aging in our society has changed dramatically over the past generation. Many seniors struggle to access needed services, which include health promotion and disease prevention activities. A "Parish Nurse Questionnaire" was developed by the authors using the Healthy People 2010 Critical Health Indicators, the International Parish Nurse Resource Center functions of the parish (faith community) nurse, and the ANA Scope and Standards for Faith Community Nurses to ascertain if, and how frequently, faith community nurses practice interventions that address strategies mandated by theses organizations. Data collected on 102 participants supported that the faith community nurse model of community-based practice guides the development of strategies addressing those established standards. Those who provide health promotion and disease prevention activities in faith communities serve as viable partners with community initiatives, which may help to provide more seamless and efficient services to the elder in the community.

Review of research about parish nursing

Parish nursing is a unique type of community health nursing. Parish nurses do not perform hands-on nursing. Parish nursing care complements other health care delivery systems in the United States. Empirical literature about parish nursing is categorized into health needs assessment, parish nursing practice, and perceptions of parish nursing. Parish nursing can be seen as a means to reduce health care costs and improve the health of a community.