Moses Mansu^1,, Feng Qian², Carla Boutin-Foster³, Erica Phillips-Caesar⁴, Noel Manyindo⁵, Carl Letamendi⁶

Background: African Americans in New York City (NYC) are more likely to have sedentary lifestyles and lack access to physical activity (PA) opportunities. In 2015, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYCDOHMH) initiated a church-placed PA program to provide PA opportunities in underserved communities in NYC. Objective: To explore whether characteristics of a church-placed PA program such as location, type of exercise equipment used, and timing of classes were associated with PA uptake in church-going African Americans. Design and setting: This cross-sectional study used the Posttest Only Design. A sufficiently powered sample size (327) was obtained from NYCDOHMH survey data from church-placed PA program in African American churches. We hypothesized that the location of the church, time of day exercise classes were held and the type of exercise equipment used impacted PA participation. Participants: Program participants were drawn from the participating churches. Intervention: Weekly exercise classes were led by paid fitness instructors. Churches also received free exercise equipment. Measures: Bivariate analyses tested for association between PA uptake and the convenience of the church location, the type of exercise equipment used and time of the day exercise classes were offered. Results: We found that there were associations between the convenience of the church location and PA participation (p=0.001) and the time of the day exercises classes were held and PA participation (p = 0.018) but not for the type of exercise equipment used and PA participation (p = 0.209). Conclusion: Overall, the church location, and the timing of exercise classes significantly impact PA uptake among church-going African Americans in NYC.

exercise, physical activity, church-placed, African Americans, church-based