New research show impact of churches on health

The Cinnamon Network has released research into the effectiveness of church-led programmes to alleviate pressures on the health system.

Cinnamon highlights that there are over 3,500 churches and 200,000 volunteers working to support health and social care in their communities, at a time when the health service is facing budget cuts and limited resources.

The research follows on from previous work into police and church partnerships, and looked at both the impact of church-led work, and how projects can be scaled up and replicated. It studied 32 church-led initiatives and identified how they tackle issues including mental health, obesity and social isolation. The final report builds on the findings of FaithAction’s work on faith and health.

The Church’s Impact on Health and Social Care is available to download from the Cinnamon Network’s website. The research was also covered in the Guardian.