In recognition of the two phase application process, the present proposal has been placed in the context of the prospective institutional plans for a National Research and Demonstration Center. The demonstration and education proposal is a test of an organizational level approach derived from a broad theoretical model based in part on social learning theory. The major hypothesis to be tested is that through the use of the proposed organizational level approach, the arteriosclerotic risk factor status of members of an organization can be changed and that change can be maintained over time. The research design includes the assignment of twenty churches to five experimental conditions high level of professional assistance plus the organizational level approach, low level of professional assistance plus the organizational level approach, high level of professional assistance groups will be assisted and trained in face-to-face contact with professionals. The low level of professional assistance churches will be treated in a fashion similar to what would be expected if these programs were disseminated from a central location to organizations across the country. All groups will be given high quality self-help (individual and small group) manuals directed at specific risk factors -- smoking, blood lipids, blood pressure, physical fitness and obesity. All change manuals and chage programs in all groups are designed to be used by lay volunteers recruited from within the organizations themselves. The cost effectiveness of this feature is a major benefit. The evaluation design includes random sample surveys of each church based on physiologic assessment of blood lipids, blood pressure, and obesity. Smoking and physical fitness will be measured by self-report bolstered by a bogus pipeline procedure. All churches will be surveyed prior to implementation and at 12, 24, and 36 months following the pretest. The long-tem tracking of the various churches is consonant with our belief that one of the most powerful aspects of the proposed organizational level approach to behavior change will be on its effectiveness for long-term maintenance of change.
| Rakowski, W; Wells, B L; Lasater, T M et al. (1991) Correlates of expected success at health habit change and its role as a predictor in health behavior research. Am J Prev Med 7:89-94 |
