Timeline
2009 - 2016
Status: Completed
Description
Clergy suffer from high rates of obesity, chronic disease, and depression, and simultaneously underestimate the toll these take on their daily functioning. Health interventions are needed for clergy and may be tailored to their occupational context and theological beliefs.
Between 2009 and 2016, the Duke Clergy Health Initiative designed and implemented a holistic health intervention called Spirited Life, specifically targeting symptoms of metabolic syndrome, depression, and stress. Spirited Life was a randomized, multiple baseline study that offered enrollment to nearly all United Methodist Church clergy in North Carolina; a total of 1,114 clergy (response rate=64%) enrolled.
Using a multiple baseline design, we randomized participants to three cohorts. Each cohort began the health intervention in one of three consecutive years. The third cohort served as a randomized waitlist control cohort, allowing comparisons between the first and third cohorts. The two-year Spirited Life intervention consisted of: 1) a theological underpinning for health stewardship based on incarnation, grace, and response that was delivered via workshops; 2) the stress management program Williams LifeSkills; 3) Naturally Slim, an online weight loss program; 4) phone contact with a Wellness Advocate; and 5) $500 small grants for health goals. We measured each construct before, twice during, and at the end of the two-year intervention.
In the end, markers of metabolic syndrome were significantly improved and were sustained for an additional 18 months. However, data from Spirited Life indicated only minor improvements in depression and stress symptoms and these minor improvements were not sustained over time. In order to find solutions that could help pastors with stress and depression, the Clergy Health Initiative launched The Selah Stress Management Intervention in 2019.
Team
Members
Carl Weisner, M.A., Senior Director
Jia Yao, M.A., Statisticiam
Robin Swift, M.P.H., Program Director
Amanda Wallace, M.Div., Research Manager
Melanie Kolkin, Research Manager
Rachel Meyer, Research Manager
Liz Turner, Ph.D., Lead Statistician
Xiang-Fang Li, M.D., Statistician
Leaders
David Toole, Ph.D., M.T.S., M.P.H., Principal Investigator
Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell, Ph.D., Research Director
Sponsors
Contact
Logan Tice, M.A., Research Manager