Cancer has become the number one killer among Hispanics, the fastest and largest minority group in the US. Poor nutrition, physical inactivity and obesity are leading causes for cancer. Hispanics experience disproportionate higher rates of obesity, lower levels of physical activity and poorer eating habits. In San Antonio, 66% of adults are overweight or obese, while only 19% and 24% of adults in San Antonio were meeting guidelines for fruit and vegetable intake and daily physical activity level.

Although healthy eating and physical activity are a matter of individual choice, social and economic vulnerability may limit Hispanics’ ability to live a healthy lifestyle. In San Antoni...

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Cancer has become the number one killer among Hispanics, the fastest and largest minority group in the US. Poor nutrition, physical inactivity and obesity are leading causes for cancer. Hispanics experience disproportionate higher rates of obesity, lower levels of physical activity and poorer eating habits. In San Antonio, 66% of adults are overweight or obese, while only 19% and 24% of adults in San Antonio were meeting guidelines for fruit and vegetable intake and daily physical activity level.

Although healthy eating and physical activity are a matter of individual choice, social and economic vulnerability may limit Hispanics’ ability to live a healthy lifestyle. In San Antonio’s south and west-sides, approximately 95% of the population is Hispanic; as high as 43% of the residents are obese, 42% of area households earn less than $20,000 annually, and approximately 54% of residents have an educational level below the 12th grade.

Cancer prevention programs for the underserved Hispanic populations should go beyond the traditional health education approach. Faith-based communities have been emerging as important settings for promoting healthy lifestyles. The Body and Soul Program is an evidence-based cancer prevention program for African-American churches. The program uses multiple strategies including pastoral involvement, educational activities, church environmental changes, and peer-counseling. A 16-church effectiveness study of Body & Soul showed that the intervention group consumed significantly more FV at follow-up than the control group. The Body and Soul Program has a great potential to be adopted and implemented in Hispanic churches.

We are proposing a faith-based cancer prevention program, Building a Healthy Temple (BHT), to reduce cancer risks through the promotion of healthy lifestyles among Hispanic congregants and community members. The BHT will be a 4-month program adopting the four pillar model of the Body and Soul Cancer Prevention Program, i.e., pastoral involvement, educational activities, church environmental changes, and peer-counseling. BHT intervention components include Health Sermons, Health Bible Study, Nutrition Education and Cooking Demonstration, Active Living Competition, church health conducive environmental changes, and Peer Counseling by trained lay health leaders. BHT aims to reduce cancer risk through the promotion of healthy lifestyles among Hispanic congregants and community members. The program will be implemented in up to 18 faith-based communities and reach approximately 3,600 individuals in San Antonio’s low income neighborhoods.

The BHT project uses non-traditional venues and approaches for the promoting healthy lifestyles among high-risk Hispanics. There are five main innovative features: 1) adopting evidence-based intervention approaches; 2) integrating the promotion of spiritual and physical health; 3) using existing infrastructure and social support systems in church settings to deliver programs that facilitate healthful behavioral changes; 4) building community capacity by using the Train the Trainer Model. The trained lay health leaders will remain in the community as important human capital to sustain health promotion services and activities; and 5) strengthen partnerships among academics, the faith-based community, and key community stakeholders and advocates.

The BHT project targets three preventable cancer risk factors, i.e., poor nutrition, physical inactivity and obesity, among Hispanics. The proposed project will lead to the adoption of an evidence-based Body and Soul Cancer Prevention Program appropriate in Hispanic faith community settings. The project has great potential to be disseminated on a broad scale to meet community needs, impact practice and policy, and ultimately lead to the reduction in cancer risks among underserved Hispanics.

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