Choosing Life in the Black Community, Achieving the Dream: A Traumatic Stress Curriculum Pilot Study.

This study measured changes in post-traumatic stress symptoms and collective-efficacy in African Americans participating in cohorts of "Choosing Life in the Black Community: Achieving the Dream", an Afrocentricity-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy curriculum for trauma. Participants were recruited by key leaders in the black community of the Twin Cities, Minnesota Metropolitan Area and completed a 6-week group counselling curriculum led by lay health workers and supervised by professional psychologists. Twenty-six participants provided pre- and post-curriculum responses to validated measures of post-traumatic stress symptoms, collective-efficacy and adverse childhood experiences. Thirteen participants provided semi-structured interviews. Pre- to post-curriculum change score were calculated for post-traumatic stress symptoms and collective-efficacy. Interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. Post-traumatic stress symptoms decreased and collective-efficacy increased, though neither change achieved statistical significance. Participants with more adverse childhood experiences showed significantly greater decreases in post-traumatic stress symptoms. There is evidence that this program may be particularly effective in participants that have greater past experiences of trauma.

A Community-Driven Implementation of the Body and Soul Program in Churches in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, 2011-2014.

BACKGROUND: African Americans have high disease and death rates due to cancer and cardiovascular disease. Health promotion efforts to improve diet have the potential to reduce these rates. COMMUNITY CONTEXT: Given their importance in the community and the extent of their reach, churches are effective avenues for health promotion efforts targeting African Americans. The objectives of this project were to promote healthy eating among African American church members, engage African American churches in the implementation of Body and Soul (an evidenced-based program that encourages healthy eating), and implement the program in the community with minimal resources. METHODS: From 2011 through 2014 we conducted a community engagement project to implement the 12-week Body and Soul program, which includes demonstrations of healthy recipes and peer counseling, in 20 churches. Participants (n = 310) completed baseline and follow-up surveys on their eating habits and experience with peer counseling. Church coordinators (n = 11) completed a survey evaluating the program. OUTCOME: Participants' weekly servings of fruit (baseline, 4.3; follow-up, 5.4; P < .001) and vegetables (baseline, 4.5; follow-up, 5.3; P < .001) increased. Church coordinators reported enthusiasm about Body and Soul at their church, and 10 of 11 church coordinators indicated that their pastor encouraged members to attend Body and Soul events. Program success was promoted by engaging the pastor in program activities and by scheduling events soon after church services. Implementation challenges were variation in peer counseling among churches and low turnout at follow-up events. INTERPRETATION: The project was successfully implemented in the 20 churches, and increases in healthy eating were observed. This project demonstrated that Body and Soul can be implemented in communities with little funds or other resources.