1. Health and wellness of African-American
patrons of Bethel Baptist Church
Sandy Lam
White 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 unemployed
15.8% 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.
REFERENCES
MATERIALS & METHODS American Heart Association. (2012). Understand your risk for diabetes. Retrieved
from
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Diabetes/UnderstandYourRiskforDiab
etes/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_preval
ence.pdf
Westchester County Department of Health. (2013). Westchester County community
health assessment [PDF file]. Retrieved from
http://health.westchestergov.com/statistics
CHART OR PICTURE
Characteristic 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.