Development and validation of a religious health fatalism measure for the African-American faith community.

Health researchers struggle to understand barriers to improving health in the African-American community. The African-American church is one of the most promising venues for health promotion, disease prevention, and disparities reduction. Religious fatalism, the belief that health outcomes are inevitable and/or determined by God, may inhibit healthy behaviors for a subset of religious persons. This study reports the development and validation of the Religious Health Fatalism Questionnaire, a measurement tool for studying faith-related health beliefs in African-Americans. Participants included 276 members of seven predominantly African-American churches. Factor analysis indicated three dimensions: (1) Divine Provision; (2) Destined Plan; and (3) Helpless Inevitability. Evidence is presented for the reliability, convergent and predictive validity of the Religious Health Fatalism Questionnaire.

Religious fatalism and its association with health behaviors and outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between religious fatalism and health care utilization, health behaviors, and chronic illness. METHODS: As part of Nashville's REACH 2010 project, residents (n=1273) participated in a random telephone survey that included health variables and the helpless inevitability subscale of the Religious Health Fatalism Questionnaire. RESULTS: Religious health fatalism was higher among African Americans and older participants. Some hypotheses about the association between fatalism and health outcomes were confirmed. CONCLUSION: Religious fatalism is only partially predictive of health behaviors and outcomes and may be a response to chronic illness rather than a contributor to unhealthy behaviors.