Faith Community Nursing: Improving Self-Care in Minority Church Members Through Patient Activation

Spirituality and faith, which are cornerstones of African American churches, also create a receptive setting for health improvement activities. This article presents participant responses to a health improvement intervention to promote church members' self-care. Using the Body & Soul program, the faith community nurse involved laypersons as health ministry team members to support urban African American churchgoers in learning and practicing healthier eating and self-care practices. The health intervention used the Patient Activation Measure (PAM) and incorporated Scripture into weekly sessions, revealing an increase in participants' self-care activation activities.