# Engaging Partners in Caring Communities (EPICC): Building capacity to implement health promotion programs in African American churches

> **NIH NIH U01** · TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $1,772,784

## Abstract

EPICC PROJECT SUMMARY
Engaging Partners in Caring Communities (EPICC) is designed to reduce health disparities
associated with chronic health conditions such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes,
cardiovascular disease, and cancer, by supporting delivery of evidence-based health promotion
programs in churches serving African American communities. This academic-community
partnership will support 30 churches in developing implementation teams of 4-5 members to
participate in tis project. They will have access to the EPICC App and website will be designed
with community input to guide implementation teams in selecting evidence-based programs
(EBPs) approved by federal agencies. They will then complete the web-based EPICC Survey
developed for this project to assess their organization’s capacity to implement the program they
select. This will be used to identify facilitators and challenges they may face as they offer the
EBP in their congregation. The research team will use a recently developed analytic tool to
guide them in offering technical assistance based on the results of that survey.
This mixed methods step-wedge cluster randomized trial will provide information about the
approach to disseminating information about EBPs to faith-based communities, assessing
strengths and challenges, and delivering technical assistance to build church capacity to
promote health. It is also designed to bring implementation teams from participating churches
together in a learning collaborative to identify and address social determinants of health that
constitute additional impediments to health equity. will also bring implementation teams
together to identify and address social determinants of health that are relevant to their shared
goals.
Successful completion of this project will potentially transform approaches to community
engagement and empowerment to improve health equity. The Partners who will be engaged in
this project include four academic faculty from two historically Black colleges/universities
(HBCUs) who will offer graduate and undergraduate students opportunities to participate in
community-engaged research, learn about implementation science, observe and reflect on
development and deployment of several technological products designed with community input.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10414659
- **Project number:** 1U01OD033244-01
- **Recipient organization:** TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Leah R Alexander
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1,772,784
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-23 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10414659

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10414659, Engaging Partners in Caring Communities (EPICC): Building capacity to implement health promotion programs in African American churches (1U01OD033244-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10414659. Licensed CC0.

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