Expanding Community Engagement and Equitable Access Through All-Abilities Community Gardens.

Community gardens accessible to people of all abilities provide affordable fresh produce for people with disabilities (PwD) who frequently experience food inequity and related health risks. The objective of this project was to enable 9 community gardens in southern New Jersey to welcome PwD and encourage their use through inclusive designs and practices. Postprogram surveys and a half-day group collaboration session demonstrated the desire of PwD to engage in inclusive gardens, the potential for increased social connections and produce consumption among PwD, and the challenge of limited resources in maintaining community gardens.

The Facilitators and Barriers to Digital Health for Managing Nutrition in People With Parkinson's Disease and Their Caregivers: A Formative, Qualitative Study.

OBJECTIVE: Identify techniques to assist in designing digital health platforms for nutrition services for people with Parkinson's disease and caregivers to improve their quality of life. DESIGN: Semistructured, dyadic interviews with 20 dyads (20 people with Parkinson's disease and 20 caregivers). SETTING: Home visits were conducted in the northeast US. PARTICIPANTS: People with Parkinson's disease and their caregivers were recruited via email, flyers, news articles and announcements at support groups. PHENOMENON OF INTEREST: Identification of facilitators and barriers to using digital health platforms to inform future digital nutrition services. ANALYSIS: Interviews were recorded, transcribed and double-coded using a framework analysis method. RESULTS: Reported digital health platforms utilization facilitators were: knowledge acquisition, convenience, intention to use, socializing, enjoyment, and forced adoption. Barriers included: negative feelings toward technology, lack of access or knowledge, disinterest, product design, frustration and functional reliability, and applying health information. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Although dyads often lack knowledge on both how to use technology and nutrition, they are willing to use digital health platforms to increase their nutrition knowledge if platforms are convenient. Based on the identified facilitators and barriers, the added benefits of access and training nutrition digital health platforms must be clearly communicated to end-users to improve their quality of life.