Abstract:
As community leaders, clergy are well-positioned to impact
the health of their congregants. Clergy’s conceptualizations
of health influence their own self-care and how they
minister to others. Interviews and focus group discussions
on health conceptualizations and health-seeking behaviors were
conducted with 49 United Methodist Church clergy in Western Kenya.
Data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological methods.
Participants defined health holistically using an environmental health
model. Some participants reported not seeking health care so their
congregants would believe that their faith kept them healthy.
Participants who believed that health comes directly from God reported
seeking health care less often. Participants also reported combining
traditional indigenous medicine with Western medicine. This study has
implications for health promotion among Kenyan clergy and offers the
first study of health conceptualization among clergy in Africa.
