A Quantitative Analysis of the Synergy Among Self-Reported Faith, Health and Health Care Practices of Black Baptists: A Culturecology Perspective

In the Black community, faith, spirituality and religion appear to influence health and health care decisionmaking. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to investigate the synergy between faith, health and health care practices of Black Baptists using a Model of Authentic Culturecology as the conceptual framework. The public health importance of this study relates to expanding the understanding of factors that influence health and health care decisionmaking.The study objectives are related to communication between pastor and congregants about health and health care issues, prayer and rating of general health status, and belief in God/Jesus as a healer and health care utilization behaviors. A secondary analysis was conducted using a cross-sectional dataset of 1,327 African American men and women who attended the first Joint Black National Baptist Convention held in Nashville, Tennessee from January 24-28, 2005. A series of regression analyses were completed to determine the relationships regarding pastor-congregant communication, and faith and religious influences on health and health care decisionmaking.Having been told that you have hypertension or asthma was a significant predictor for talking to a pastor when sick. Males and females differed significantly in talking to their pastor about personal health issues. Men communicated more often than women. Eating vegetables daily was a significant predictor for communicating with a pastor about physician interactions. Participants who pray before and/or after making a medical decision were more likely to report their health status as excellent or good. Additionally, the belief that God/Jesus is a healer was a significant predictor for the last visit to a physician when the respondent's sex was considered.It appears that faith positively influenced the respondents' perception of health and health care decisionmaking, and their relationship with their pastors is an important factor. More research is needed for further clarification of these synergistic interactions