Effects of a holistic health program on women’s
physical activity and mental and spiritual health
Summary Intervention studies aimed at promoting increased physical activity have
been trialled in many different settings including primary care, worksites and the
community. Churches are also potential settings for physical activity promotion.
However, little is known about the effectiveness of this setting for promoting phys-ical activity, particularly in Australia. The purpose of this study was to evaluate
the effectiveness of a mind, body and spiritually based health promotion program
in increasing physical activity and promoting mental and spiritual health. Nineteen
women completed the 8-week intervention, and 30 women in a non-health related
8-week program at the same church comprised a comparison group. Pre- and post-program surveys assessed outcome measures. Between-group differences over time
were examined using one-way MANOVA’s. Physical activity was higher in the inter-vention group than the comparison group. In contrast to the comparison group,
both mental health (depression symptoms) and spiritual health improved signifi-cantly more among intervention participants. The data highlight the potential for
a church-based setting and holistic approach to health promotion as a successful
means of increasing physical activity and promoting mental and spiritual health
among Australian women