Church-Based Health and Wellness Program

Project Overview

1st Funding Cycle Implementation Award
     Project Start Date: 4/1/2005
     Project End Date: 3/31/2008

Project Goal Statement: This project aims to reduce health risk factors related to cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes in African American church-based communities.  Church Health Action Teams (CHATs) will be recruited from congregations to conduct baseline assessments of their communities and develop interventions through education.  The project will increase church members' knowledge of health risks and strategies for risk reduction, increase the number of church members who identify CHATs as a health resource, and increase CHAT members' knowledge of implementing health risk assessments.

Award Amount: $450,000

Community Partners:
Primary Community Partner: Word of Hope Ministries, Inc.
Additional community partner organization names:

• Bethlehem Temple Church
• Christ Temple Church of God in Christ
• City of Milwaukee Health Department
• Ebenezer Church of God in Christ
• Holy Cathedral Church of God in Christ
• Mason Temple Church of God in Christ
• New Hope Missionary Baptist Church
• Parklawn Assembly of God

Academic Partners:
Primary Academic Partner: Syed Ahmed, MD, MPH, DrPH, Department of Family and Community Medicine
Additional Academic Partners:

• Kendra Kusch, Department of Family and Community Medicine
• Staci Young, MS, Department of Family and Community Medicine 

Project Progress Summary Reports:
     Project Progress Report Summary April 2005 - March 2008
     Project Final Report Summary   

Affiliated Web Pages:
    City of Milwaukee Health Department
    Holy Cathedral Church of God in Christ
    Parklawn Assembly of God
    Word of Hope Ministries, Inc.

Project Dissemination Efforts (as reported by project partners)

• Article
  • Article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Online – Church to build campus on northwest side. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Online. August 11, 2006.
• Outreach Materials/Events
  • Hosted a Health Expo event for the partner congregations and communities members and received press coverage through a radio interview on WMCS 1290 and on Fox 6 News. December 2005.
  • Developed and distributed BRANCH Out newsletters. June 2007 and March 2008.
  • Developed and distributed event flyers to promote project activities
• Poster
  • Poster presentation at the International Conference on Urban Health Conference. Baltimore, MD. October 2007.
• Presentation
  • Presentation at the Wisconsin Public Health Association Annual Conference – Building a Rejoiceful Alliance of Neighbors for Change and Healing. Wisconsin Public Health Association Annual Conference. May 23-25, 2006.