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

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.

Southwest Harvest for Health: Adapting a mentored vegetable gardening intervention for cancer survivors in the southwest.

Few diet and physical activity evidence-based interventions have been routinely used in community settings to achieve population health outcomes. Adapting interventions to fit the implementation context is important to achieve the desired results. Harvest for Health is a home-based vegetable gardening intervention that pairs cancer survivors with certified Master Gardeners from the Cooperative Extension Service with the ultimate goal of increasing vegetable consumption and physical activity, and improving physical functioning and health-related quality-of-life. Harvest for Health has potential for widespread dissemination since Master Gardener Programs exist throughout the United States. However, state- and population-specific adaptations may be needed to improve intervention adoption by other Master Gardener Programs. Our primary objective was to adapt this evidence-informed intervention that was initially incepted in Alabama, for the drastically different climate and growing conditions of New Mexico using a recommended adaptation framework. Our secondary objective was to develop a study protocol to support a pilot test of the adapted intervention, Southwest Harvest for Health. The adaptation phase is a critical first step towards widespread dissemination, implementation, and scale-out of an evidence-based intervention. This paper describes the adaptation process and outcomes, and the resulting protocol for the ongoing pilot study that is currently following 30 cancer survivors and their paired Extension Master Gardener mentors.