Facilitators and Barriers to Conducting Adult Health Programs within Latino Churches in the United States: A Systematic Review

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Abstract
Despite the success of health programs conducted within Latino churches, research has been limited in understanding facilitators and barriers that exist when conducting adult health programs within Latino churches. Thus, the objective of this study is to systematically review the literature to identify facilitators and barriers that exist when conducting adult health programs within Latino churches, based on the perception of church pastors/leaders and church members, using a socio-ecological approach. A comprehensive literature search in Medline, CINAHL, and Embase was conducted. Studies were included if they were conducted in the U.S., had church pastors/leaders or church members as study participants, and if they identified facilitators and barriers within the study. Facilitators and barriers from each study were also stratified using the Socio-Ecological model (SEM). Out of 123 articles, only seventeen were included. Fifteen articles discussed facilitators and barriers that were specific to conducting health programs such as diabetes or HIV/AIDS. Two articles discussed facilitators and barriers that were specific to conducting health promotion activities within Latino churches. In this study, facilitators were identified within each level of the SEM, except at the policy level. Moreover, barriers were identified within each level of the SEM. It is important for researchers and practitioners to consider these factors to ensure that health programs as well as health promotion activities carried out within Latino churches are successful.

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