Title
Establishing Sustainable Community Garden Interventions with Aid from Health Promotion Organizations
Date of Award
1-28-2017
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Department of Family and Consumer Sciences
First Advisor
Julie M. Schumacher
Abstract
Community garden interventions provide policy, system and environmental change at the community level to establish health behaviors, which act in contest to obesity risk factors. Limited research examines factors, which influence the sustainability of community garden interventions. Therefore, in this study, a sample of 10 Midwestern community gardens associated through funding from a health promotion organization in 2013, collected data through the interviewing and surveying of 10 garden administrators and surveying of 12 garden volunteers. The study identified garden benefits perceived by garden administrators and volunteers to include contributions to social justice, continued education, enhanced social cohesion, increased access to food, community outreach publicity, improved environment aesthetics, increased physical activity and psychological stress relief. The study found none of the interviewed garden administrators had specific plans or models in place related to intervention sustainability. However, garden administrators identified factors, which increased stress to garden interventions, including the unavailability of resource needs: land access, fiscal funding, leadership and volunteer labor forces; as well as the occurrence of unexpected barriers, which increased the strain on resources. Researchers concluded health promotion organizations might facilitate access to needed resources and provide training for intervention sustainability planning.
Recommended Citation
Buenemann, Rachel Joann, "Establishing Sustainable Community Garden Interventions with Aid from Health Promotion Organizations" (2017). Theses and Dissertations. 659.
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd/659
DOI
http://doi.org/10.30707/ETD2017.Buenemann.R
Page Count
71
Included in
Human and Clinical Nutrition Commons, Public Health Education and Promotion Commons, Public Policy Commons
Comments
Imported from ProQuest Buenemann_ilstu_0092N_10894.pdf