Adaptation and Implementation of a Health Promotion Program with Black Women

Black women have the highest rates of obesity among any other gender or racial/ethnic group. Obesity is often a precursor to other diseases that may often be diet-related. Early in 2020, a pandemic was declared related to the COVID-19 virus and thus Americans were advised to shelter in place. Much of the research was attributing the increase in deaths among the Black community to underlying conditions and thus nutrition interventions with this population were needed. This research implemented an online health promotion program with Black women to assess diet, physical activity, self-efficacy, and health knowledge. This randomized controlled trial, wait-list, quasi arm study was 8-weeks and women met in groups for one-hour classes. Repeated Measures ANOVA was used to determine pre to post outcomes while focus groups used were to determine any possible behavior changes that may have been related to the intervention. There were statistically significant outcomes within groups for health knowledge and self-efficacy which could potentially lead to further outcomes in the future. Qualitative results included themes such as healthier food intake, weight loss, and better purchasing habits. Implications include the need for easily adaptable programs or those that have been developed for multiple delivery methods.

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