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Healthy Eating and Active Living in the Spirit (HEALS) reaches African Americans through their churches
July 12, 2011
A church-based program to address the health needs of African Americans and reduce health disparities will be discussed at a forum Saturday, July 30, at the University of South Carolina.
The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held from 10 a.m. – noon in Room/Suite 140 (downstairs) of the Discovery 1 building, located at 915 Greene St.
The forum will include a brief overview of Healthy Eating and Active Living in the Spirit (HEALS) program, a discussion on ways to improve community health and how churches/communities can be involved to reduce health disparities among members. Refreshments will be provided.
Space is limited, and registration is required by calling Lisa Davis at 803-576-5613 or emailing ldavis@mailbox.sc.edu.
The forum is sponsored by the Cancer Prevention and Control Program of the University of South Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health.
Racial and ethnic minorities are less likely to get the preventive care they need to stay healthy, more likely to suffer from serious illnesses, such as heart disease and diabetes, and more likely to die from cancer, said Davis, HEALS Project Coordinator.
In response to these health disparities, the Cancer Prevention and Control Program is working with churches to develop the HEALS program for their members, she said.
"By partnering with churches, we have the opportunity to reduce the health disparities that disproportionately impact African-American communities," Davis said.
"Many people look to their churches to provide health and wellness programs," she said. "We already have had tremendous success in improving the health status of members in churches that have adopted the HEALS program."
