A Closer Look: Examining Cultural–Contextual Influences on Weight Management Through Focus Groups With Church-Going African American Women

Abstract

Chronic diseases continue to rise among African American women making lifestyle programs a critical aspect of risk reduction and disease prevention. Weight management programs often have a reduced impact among African American women compared to White women, in part due to interactions between individual, social, and environmental factors. A secondary analysis of focus group data evaluated how cultural elements and contextual factors identified by church-going African American women influence intervention design, approaches for cultural adaptation, and solutions to weight management. Using the Community Energy Balance framework and the Community-Based Participatory Research model, research questions were formed, and a thematic analysis was conducted using data from six focus groups held in predominately African American churches (n = 6). Four themes emerged that represent identity and body appearance perspectives inside African American cultural contexts and across social and environmental contexts for how they work as motivators and barriers to health behaviors. These themes provide guidance for intervention approaches that center the experiences and needs of church-going African American women and identify targets for future cultural adaptations. Further work is needed to measure how specific cultural adaptations connect to improving health outcomes and engagement among African American women.