Southwest Harvest for Health: An Adapted Mentored Vegetable Gardening Intervention for Cancer Survivors.

Cindy K Blair,Linda S Cook,Erika Baca,Ellen Burgess,Vernon Shane Pankratz,Wendy Demark-Wahnefried,Ursa Brown-Glaberman,Elizabeth M Harding,Dorothy Duff,Karen Quezada,Prajakta Adsul,Joseph Rodman,Dolores D Guest,Sally Davis,Zoneddy Dayao,Andrew L Sussman,Towela V King

doi:10.3390/nu13072319

Abstract

Harvest for Health is a home-based vegetable gardening intervention that pairs cancer survivors with Master Gardeners from the Cooperative Extension System. Initially developed and tested in Alabama, the program was adapted for the different climate, growing conditions, and population in New Mexico. This paper chronicles the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of “Southwest Harvest for Health”. During the nine-month single-arm trial, 30 cancer survivor-Master Gardener dyads worked together to establish and maintain three seasonal gardens. Primary outcomes were accrual, retention, and satisfaction. Secondary outcomes were vegetable and fruit (V and F) intake, physical activity, and quality of life. Recruitment was diverse and robust, with 30 survivors of various cancers, aged 50–83, roughly one-third minority, and two-thirds females enrolled in just 60 days. Despite challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, retention to the nine-month study was 100%, 93% reported “good-to-excellent” satisfaction, and 87% “would do it again.” A median increase of 1.2 servings of V and F/day was documented. The adapted home-based vegetable gardening program was feasible, well-received, and resulted in increased V and F consumption among adult cancer survivors. Future studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of this program and to inform strategies to increase the successful implementation and further dissemination of this intervention.

Highlights

In 2019, there were 16.9 million cancer survivors living in the United States (U.S.) [1].This number is expected to increase to 22.1 million by the year 2030 due to the growth and aging of the population [1,2] and could be substantially higher with further improvements in screening rates, access to care, and effective treatments
The characteristics of the 30 cancer survivors enrolled in this study are included in
This study explored the feasibility and acceptability of a home-based, mentored vegvegetable gardening intervention adapted for middle-aged and older cancer survivors etable gardening intervention adapted for middle-aged and older cancer survivors living living in the Southwest U.S It represents the first systematic adaptation of the original in the Southwest U.S It represents the first systematic adaptation of the original Harvest

Summary

Introduction

In 2019, there were 16.9 million cancer survivors living in the United States (U.S.) [1].This number is expected to increase to 22.1 million by the year 2030 due to the growth and aging of the population [1,2] and could be substantially higher with further improvements in screening rates, access to care, and effective treatments. Many cancer survivors are at increased risk for treatment-related comorbidities, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and reduced quality of life [3,4,5,6,7,8,9]. This has led to preventive health being an important aspect of cancer survivorship [10]. Adherence to a healthy lifestyle has been recommended to improve health outcomes and quality of life and for reduce cancer recurrence and premature mortality [11]

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Conclusion