HEALTHY LEADERS: MULTILEVEL HEALTH PROMOTION CONSIDERATIONS FOR DIVERSE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH PASTORS

摘要

Community psychologists often work with institutions and leaders, such as clergy, to bring about social change. Studies finding high rates of chronic disease among clergy have called for the design of clergy health interventions. However, among clergy there is substantial diversity. We conducted four focus groups with a cross-section of United Methodist clergy and one focus group each with female, local, young, and large-sized church pastors. We compared themes from the specific versus broader focus groups. Findings are as follows: female pastors felt guilty for taking personal time and experienced pressure to prove themselves; local pastors reported financial strain and utilized a variety of interpersonal relationships; young pastors indicated child-related stress but also greater interest in nutrition, exercise, and church-based health promotion; and large-sized church pastors expressed increased confidence in negotiating personal time and reported more sharing of pastoral duties. We organized themes by levels of the socioecological framework to guide intervention design.