Interest in Health Promotion Among Korean American Seventh-day Adventists Attending a Religious Retreat

Abstract

<b>Background:</b> Little is known about interest in faith-based health promotion programs among Asian Americanpopulations. Among the Christian denominations, the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) church is known to place astrong doctrinal emphasis on health. <br/><b>Objectives</b>: To understand appropriate ways to develop and implement healthpromotion programs and to conduct research among Korean American SDAs. <br/><b>Methods</b>: We collaborated with theNorth American Division of Korean SDA Churches which sponsors annual week-long religious retreats for theirchurch members. We developed and administered a 10-page questionnaire at their 2009 retreat in order to assesssocio-demographic and church characteristics, religiosity, perceived relationship between health and religion,and interest and preferences for church-based health promotion programs. <br/><b>Results</b>: Overall, 223 participantscompleted our survey (123 in Korean and 100 in English). The sample consisted of regular churchgoers who wereinvolved in a variety of helping activities, and many holding leadership positions in their home churches. Thevast majority was interested in receiving health information at church (80%) in the form of seminars, cookingclasses and workshops (50-60%). Fewer respondents were interested in support groups (27%). Some interestsand preferences differed between English and Korean language groups. <br/><b>Conclusion</b>: Korean American SDAchurch retreat participants from a large geographic area are very interested in receiving health informationand promoting health at their churches and can potentially serve as “agents of influence” in their respectivecommunities.