Community-Based Participatory Research to Study Church Implementation of an Evidence-Based Social Support Intervention to Increase Physical Activity Among Older African American Adults

Physical activity (PA) plays a critical role in preventing and treating chronic disease and promoting quality of life across the age spectrum. Older adults are a priority population for increasing PA as they experience disproportionate rates of chronic disease, are underactive, and their proportion of the US population is increasing. The proposed study, which serves as the core research project for the University of South Carolina Prevention Research Center, uses a within-site pre-post study design (i.e., quasi-experimental) to study the implementation of Walk Your Heart to Health (WYHH) by AME Churches. Churches will also receive training in how to modify organizational practices to support physical activity. The study's primary focus is to study implementation outcomes. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research will help inform three primary questions: (1) how do contextual factors influence implementation and sustainability success or failure? (2) what barriers and facilitators to implementation exist? and (3) how can the EBI be scaled up to broader regions or populations outside the research community? Data from pastors and church implementers will come from multiple sources (surveys, interviews, etc.) and time points and will be analyzed using a matrixed multiple case study approach and rapid qualitative analysis. The investigators will work with the CAB and other partners to ensure cultural relevance of intervention strategies and support materials in Year 1, pilot the implementation strategies and measurements in Year 2 (6 churches), conduct the implementation study in Years 3 and 4 (20 churches), and focus on translation and scale up activities in Year 5. A secondary focus is to study participant-level outcomes. Increasing PA in older adults is a Healthy People 2030 goal. Churches are vital but underutilized institutions for implementing EBIs that can contribute to reaching national priorities.