Southwest Harvest for Health Vegetable Gardening Intervention

Not Applicable

Completed

Conditions: Cancer Survivor

Interventions: Behavioral: home-based, mentored vegetable gardening program

Registration Number: NCT04251299

Lead Sponsor: University of New Mexico

Brief Summary: "Harvest for Health" is a home-based vegetable gardening intervention that pairs cancer survivors with certified master gardeners (MGs) from the Cooperative Extension System, the education and outreach arm of land-grant universities nationwide.

Detailed Description: Few lifestyle behavior change interventions have been successfully translated into practice. Addressing this research-to-practice gap is a significant research and public health priority. "Harvest for Health" is a home-based vegetable gardening intervention that pairs cancer survivors with certified Master Gardeners from the Cooperative Extension System. The parent study was started at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and is currently being conducted throughout the entire state of Alabama. Preliminary findings suggest that this intervention increases vegetable consumption and physical activity, and improves physical functioning and health-related quality of life. We propose a feasibility study to adapt this promising program to the multi-cultural population of cancer survivors and for the local context (physical, social, and cultural environment) of New Mexico. We will then implement the adapted program, "Southwest Harvest for Health" and evaluate feasibility, acceptability, and fidelity. The adaptation phase is a critical first step towards widespread dissemination, implementation, and scale-up of an evidence-based intervention.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 30

Inclusion Criteria

Age 50 years or older
Residing in Bernalillo or Sandoval County, New Mexico
Diagnosed with an invasive cancer (any type)
Completed primary treatment (surgery, radiation, chemotherapy)(note: endocrine therapy is allowed)
Able to read, speak, and understand English (The future larger trial will include Spanish-Speaking participants)
Not told by a physician to limit physical activity and no pre-existing medical condition(s) that would preclude home gardening, e.g., severe orthopedic conditions, hip or knee replacement surgery within 6 months), end-stage renal disease, paralysis, dementia, blindness, unstable angina, untreated stage 3 hypertension, or recent history of myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, or pulmonary conditions that required oxygen or hospitalization within 6 months.
Currently not adhering to the recommended number of fruit and vegetable servings per day (consuming fewer than 5 servings of vegetables and fruits/day and not meeting the recommended guidelines for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (< 150 minutes/week)
Reside in a location that can accommodate a 4' x 8' raised garden bed or 4 (29" x 14") garden containers, or adequate (at least 4 hours) of sunlight per day and have access to running water
No existing or recent (within the past year) experience with vegetable gardening
Able to participate in the 10-month intervention (all three seasonal gardens; from mid-February through early November 2020)

Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Single Arm	home-based, mentored vegetable gardening program	All participants will receive the 10-month mentored, vegetable gardening intervention

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Feasibility of the Intervention	through study completion, an average of 9 months	Ability to recruit 25 cancer survivors in 3 months, achieve 80% retention rates, 80% adherence to the intervention, and high acceptability of the program for both cancer survivors (participants) and Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Pre-post Change in Vegetable and Fruit Intake	baseline to 9-months	The number of daily servings of vegetables and fruits will be measured by the Eating at America's Table Screener (EATS) questionnaire; this 10-item NCI-developed questionnaire will be able to assess whether individuals increase by more than one serving of vegetables/fruits per day.
Pre-post Change in Objectively Measured Physical Activity	baseline to 9-months	Physical activity will be objectively measured using the activPAL research grade monitor.
Pre-post Change in Sleep Quality	baseline to 9-months	Self-reported sleep quality will be assessed using the PROMIS 8-item questionnaires for sleep impairment and sleep disturbance. Raw scores range from 8 to 40; higher scores indicate worse sleep quality; T-score rescales the raw score into a standardized score with a mean of 50 and a standard deviation (SD) of 10. Therefore, a person with a T-score of 40 is one SD below the mean.
Pre-post Change in Physical Function	baseline to 9-months	Self-reported physical function will be assessed using the 8-item physical function scale. Raw scores range from 8 to 40; higher scores indicate better physical function; T-score rescales the raw score into a standardized score with a mean of 50 and a standard deviation (SD) of 10. Therefore, a person with a T-score of 40 is one SD below the mean.
Pre-post Change in Physical Performance	baseline to 9-months	Physical performance will be objectively measured using the Rikli \& Jones Senior Fitness Battery.