Exploring the Health Beliefs of Older African Americans in a Faith-Based Health Education Program
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47779/ajhs.2026.772Keywords:
Medical Mistrust, Locus of Control, Spritual, Black Churches, CaregivingAbstract
Medical mistrust among African Americans is rooted in a history of abuse by unethical researcher and personal and community experiences of discrimination in healthcare. This study explored the relationship between spirituality and health, and health care attitudes of older African Americans in a faith-based health education program in the northeastern United States. The Health Beliefs survey includes combined items from the Spiritual Locus of Control Scale and the Group-Based Medical Mistrust Scale. We collected data over four years of a faith-based dementia caregiver support program from new participants (N=56) in an annual 12-week Healthy Living program. Participants completed the survey during their first session in their first year of the program. This exploratory study analyzed survey responses using univariate statistics. Participants endorsed the importance of their relationship with God in staying healthy and reliance on God to remain in good health and showed more trust than distrust in the healthcare system. Results indicate a cultural shift in this community of older African Americans resulting from repeated exposure to messaging on self-advocacy in healthcare settings, importance of preventive screenings, and decreasing health risks through positive health practices. Health education programs must be designed to provide repeated health messaging stressing the importance of personal responsibility for adopting positive health practices, self-advocacy in healthcare settings, and active participation in the patient-provider partnership.
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