Recruitment of religious organisations into a community-based health promotion programme

Programmes concerned with health promotion activities frequently rely on community organisations to deliver health behaviour change interventions. This paper presents data on the recruitment of religious organisations (ROs) into a research project focused on dietary change. The authors contacted the membership list of a local multi-denominational religious umbrella organisation by mail. The recruitment process consisted of a screening survey followed by an informational meeting with RO representatives, with additional meetings as necessary. The ROs were surveyed by telephone, and the initial and follow-up meetings were held at a location convenient to the RO representatives, often the RO's building. For this paper, the unit of analysis is the RO. The ROs approached during the recruitment process were of a variety of faiths and denominations. All were located within the metropolitan area of Seattle, WA, USA. The screening survey was used to determine RO eligibility, and collect further information on the RO and its membership. The survey included questions adapted from previous RO surveys and questions developed by the project team. The recruitment strategy yielded a 26% enrollment rate of eligible ROs. In comparison to eligible ROs, those that did not meet the eligibility criteria were less stable, smaller and had a membership that was less white, less college-educated and more working class. The size of the RO and the number of years that the religious leader had been with the RO were the strongest predictors of the RO's interest in participating in the project. These data will be helpful in recruiting community organisations into health promotion programmes.