Training lay health educators to conduct a church-based weight-loss program for African American women

Community-based lay health educators have been utilized in a range of settings and with a variety of health issues. However, little has been published about the specifics of training lay health educators to effectively deliver community-based programs. This paper describes the training used to prepare volunteer, church-based lay health educators to conduct a community-based weight-loss program, and the evaluation of that training.

After recruitment through their respective churches, volunteer lay health educators were given structured training in how to conduct the PATHWAYS weight-loss program. Program sessions were observed to monitor program delivery, and participation rates and weight loss were evaluated.

The lay health educators were highly consistent in their delivery of the program content. Participant attendance was high and virtually all of the participants completed the program. Participant weight loss averaged 8.3 pounds, which correlated with session attendance.

Given training appropriate to the structure of the program and specific to the targeted health behavior, lay health educators can reliably and effectively administer even rather complex programs.