Perceived health needs of urban African American church congregants

Theory-based assessment of congregant expectations and needs should be cond ucted prior to beginning a parish nurse program. However, no such assessmen ts are found in the literature. Using Andersen's Health Access Model as a f ramework, investigators conducted interviews with 117 randomly selected con gregants in five urban African American churches to describe their perceive d needs and expectations. Causing most concern were the following: (a) symp toms of illness-high blood pressure (50.4%), dental problems (43.6%), and b ack pain (41%); and (b) health habits/risks-weight (75%), exercise (63%), a nd diet (63%). Younger adults were significantly more concerned about all a spects of their health than their older counterparts. Women were significan tly more likely to express concern about health habits and health risks tha n males. No significant relationship was found between perceived need and a ccess to care. Although terming health care services "adequate", congregant s expressed many unmet health needs. This seemingly contradictory finding m ay illuminate a concrete role for the parish nurse, i.e., addressing person al health care concerns not alleviated by the current "adequate" health car e delivery system. This study's significance lies not only in providing pro gramming guidance, but also in theoretical insights into the role of the pa rish nurse.