Health and wellness of African-American patrons of Bethel Baptist Church

Sandy LamWhite Plains Youth Bureau, White Plains, Westchester County, NY

Survey: Created by myself using literature review of health outcomes affecting African-Americans and previous health surveys collected from Bethel Baptist Church. Data Collected: 100% of members of Bethel Baptist Church filled out the survey. Participants were asked if they currently were diabetic, had hypertension, and high cholesterol or if they were taking medication for any of the stated conditions.Analysis: SAS 9.3 and Microsoft Excel 2007 was used for data compilation and analysis. Means, frequencies, and odds ratios were provided for interpretation and summary of the data that was collected.

Purpose: Create and conduct a survey to examine the health and wellness of the church members of Bethel Baptist Church. To assist in creating interventions to improve the health of the Black or African-American community, especially among those in lower income brackets. Learning Objectives:Design and create a survey to collect data from at least 80% of Bethel Baptist Church participants on demographics, general health histories, eating habits, and obstacles that members of The Church may encounter when choosing healthy food choices.Utilize SAS to enter and analyze data to obtain descriptive statistics, frequencies, and appropriate measures of effect, if available.Review and compare to New York City and national African-American obesity rates and/or challenges to healthy food choices (if available)

13% of the American population in 2013 consisted of Black or American-Americans (CDC, 2014). African-Americans are disproportionately burdened by chronic disease morbidity and mortality. African-Americans are more likely to suffer from obesity and hypertension, two of the major risk factors for heart disease. They consistently face a higher risk for premature death than their White counterparts (Mays, Cochran, & Barnes, 2007).

In 2011, 14% of New York State residents were black. Most were burdened with diabetes and hypertension. The prevalence of diabetic adults in NYS (10.4%) exceeds that of the national number (9.5%). (New York State Department of Health, 2011).

The city of White Plains is in Westchester County, NY. In 2010:14.6% of Westchester County residents were black. 15.6% of Black residents were living in poverty 11.5% of Black residents were unemployed15.8% of Black households had an annual income of ≤ $15,000

BACKGROUND

PURPOSE & LEARNING OBJECTIVES

CONCLUSIONS

RESULTS

Overall, church members concluded their health status is good. Approximately 20% declared they were smokers or regular alcohol drinkers. There was a large proportion (65.9%) who were overweight or obese. Obesity has been linked to numerous chronic illnesses. Health risk factors such as diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension are also of concern for this community. According to the American Heart Association (2012), African-Americans are more predisposed to diabetes than Whites. Hypertension damages the cardiovascular system and untreated hypertension is linked to diabetes. High cholesterol can increase the risk of diabetes and hypertension.

Hypertension is more common among African-Americans. It is believed that the types of food consumed, lack of physical activity, and risky behaviors are all reasons for hypertension. More than 55% of the participants had hypertension and 35% had high cholesterol. The odds of hypertension is 2.82 times greater for those who have high cholesterol as compared to those who do not have high cholesterol (p<.05, 95% CI 1.12, 7.09). Similarly, the odds of hypertension is 1.80 times greater for those who are obese as compared to those who are normal weight. As this study shows, 64% of the participants regularly consume processed foods. It is important to educate and make members of this community aware of the risks of processed food, advocate for more physical activity and healthier eating habits.

REFERENCESMATERIALS & METHODS American Heart Association. (2012). Understand your risk for diabetes. Retrieved

from http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Diabetes/UnderstandYourRiskforDiabetes/Understand-Your-Risk-for-Diabetes_UCM_002034_Article.jsp

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014). Minority health: Black of African American populations. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/minorityhealth/populations/remp/black.html#10

Mays, V.M., Cochran, S.D., & Barnes, N.W. (2007). Race, race-based discrimination, and health outcomes among African Americans. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 201-225. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.57.102904.190212

New York State Department of Health. (2011). Adult diabetes prevalence in New York State [PDF file]. Retrieved from http://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/conditions/diabetes/docs/adult_diabetes_prevalence.pdf

Westchester County Department of Health. (2013). Westchester County community health assessment [PDF file]. Retrieved from http://health.westchestergov.com/statistics

CHART OR PICTURECharacteristic table of variables. Means and 95% CI for continuous variables. Frequency and percent for discrete variables.

Frequency and percentage of income levels.• Majority of participants have an annual income of <30,000

Histogram of BMI distribution by diabetic status. • Mean BMI of 28.4 among non-diabetics• Mean BMI of 32.6 among diabetics

Bar Graph of BMI by hypertension status.• More than half (56.7%)

of participants were hypertensive

• 33% of hypertensives are overweight or obese

• Odds of hypertension is 1.80 times greater for obese vs. normal weight

Bar graphs of diabetic, cholesterol, and hypertension statuses by gender.• Only 22% of the population were diabetic• Majority of hypertensives were female.