Assessing the Feasibility of a Mentored Home-Based Vegetable Gardening Intervention among Breast Cancer Survivors in the Deep South

To assess the feasibility of a mentored home-based vegetable gardening intervention among Breast Cancer Survivors (BCS) residing in the Birmingham, Alabama metropolitan area. Methods: Using a wait-list control design, BCS were randomized to either a year-long vegetable gardening intervention or a wait-list control. Intervention participants were provided with necessary supplies and paired with a Master Gardener from the Cooperative Extension. Master Gardeners mentored participants in planning, planting, and maintaining 3 seasonal gardens over 12 months, conducted monthly home-visits, and checked in bi-weekly via telephone or email. Feasibility assessment criteria consisted of participant accrual, retention, and satisfaction rates of ≥80%. Target participant accrual was 100. Participant satisfaction data were collected after study completion via structured telephone debriefing. Descriptive statistics were conducted using SPSS V24. Results: 82 BCS (Mage = 60 (39–84); Msurvivorship = 5 years (0.5–23); Mco-morbidities = 3.5 (0–12); ≥2 functional limitations = 86.6%; Caucasian = 73.2%; African-American = 26.8%) enrolled (82% accrual). Of these, four did not complete the study (2 refused to be wait-listed due to not wanting to wait to garden, 1 withdrew due to family obligations, and 1 was lost to follow-up), resulting in an retention rate of 95% over a 1-year period. All BCS who completed the intervention ( n = 42) rated their Harvest for Health experience as “Good to Excellent”, reported that they would “do it again”, and planned to “continue to garden.” When asked to rate, on a scale of 1–10 (1 = not at all and 10 = very much), the influence of gardening on motivating behavior change, BCS reported that gardening motivated them to… “eat a healthier diet” (M = 8.38; SD = 2.07), “eat more vegetables” (M = 8.43; SD = 2.08), and “be more physically active” (M = 7.5; SD = 2.73). Conclusions: The vegetable gardening intervention proved to be feasible and provided new knowledge about the influence of gardening on motivating behavior change among BCS. Findings suggest that a mentored home-based vegetable gardening may offer an integrative approach to improve diet, vegetable consumption, and physical activity among BCS. Larger, future studies are warranted.