# Presentation: 416918

## COMMUNITY GARDENING IN A SENIOR CENTER:A Public Health Initiative

- Nikki Austin, MS, RN
- Decker School of Nursing
- Binghamton University
- _[austin@binghamton.edu](mailto:austin@binghamton.edu)_

## Northern Broome Senior CenterWhitney Point, NY

## Broome County Health Department (BCHD):           Mary McFadden mmcfadden@co.broome.ny.us
Northern Broome Senior Center (NBSC)
    Site Supervisor: Leslie Hiemstra

- Northern Broome Senior Center (NBSC)
-     Site Supervisor: Leslie Hiemstra

## Decker School of NursingBinghamton UniversityThesis Committee

- Lindsay Lake Morgan, PhD, RN, GNP – Chair
- Joyce Ferrario, PhD, RN
- Yvonne A. M. Johnston, MS, RN, FNP

## Problems in New York (BRFSS)

- Women less likely to be physically active than men.
- Most adults do not get regular exercise.
- NY had a 42% increase in the prevalence of overweight adults between 1987 – 1996.
- People tend to gain weight as they age.

## Gardening

- Moderate level of physical activity.
- Requires walking, bending, stretching, lifting.
- Produces fresh vegetables.
- Community gardening involves other people.
- This activity involved a dedicated group.

## Community Garden Timeline

## Study Purposes

- Describe the initiation of the first community garden sponsored by the BCHD at the NBSC.
- Describe the effects of the garden on participants’ levels of functional capacity, physical activity, and depression.
- Describe participants’ opinions, concerns, hopes and suggestions for future gardening activities.

## Research Design

- Between-method triangulation study
- 	(Streubert & Carpenter, 1999)
- Part One – Quantitative Analysis
- One-group, pre-test, post-test
- Participants selected one health-related goal for attainment from the COOP Charts results.
- Part Two – Qualitative Analysis
- Focus group discussion

## Research Question One

- What is the relationship between gardening and the levels of functional capacity in senior citizens?
- Assessment:
- Dartmouth Coop Functional Assessment Tool (COOP Charts)
- Six Minute Walk Distance Test (6MWD)

## Research Question Two

- What is the relationship between gardening and the levels of depression in senior citizens?
- Assessment:
- Geriatric Depression Scale – Short Form (GDS)
- Total Emotional Score (TES), COOP Charts

## Research Question Three

- What is the relationship between gardening and the levels of physical activity in senior citizens.
- Assessment:
- Six-Minute Walk Distance Test (6MWD)
- Physical Fitness Score, COOP Charts

## Instrumentation

- COOP Charts (Nelson, Landgraf, Hays, Wasson, and Kirk, 1990)
- Ordinal, self-reported data in areas of Physical Activity, Daily Activities, Pain, Overall Health, Change in Health, Feelings, Social Support,  Social Activities, and Quality of Life
- Total Emotional Score (TES) was calculated from the Feelings, Social Support,  Social Activities, and Quality of Life Scores in order to correlate with the GDS.
- GDS (Yesavage, 1992)
- 15-item questionnaire with yes/no questions
- 6MWD (Described by Enright, 2003)
- Self-paced measure of fitness

## King’s Theory of Goal Attainment

## Slide 15

## Descriptive Analysis

- Part One: Quantitative
- 10 persons participated in the garden
- 8 gardeners enrolled in the study
- 6 completed the study
- Ages ranged from 57-78
-    (*M* = 68.17, SD = 8.035)
- 6 gardeners chose to improve Physical Fitness
- 2 gardeners chose to improve Feelings

## Dartmouth COOP Charts

## Inferential Statistics

- Statistically significant Wilcoxon tests
- Social Activities (*p *= .046)
- Total Emotional Score (*p* = .042)
- Test results indicated an improvement in function, as expected.

## Individual Results

- 66% met their COOP Chart goal.
- 75% of those who said they did not improve on the Physical Fitness Score actually improved their 6MWD.
_***All***_ participants improved in one or more areas.

## Qualitative Descriptive Analysis

- Focus Group Discussion – one hour
- Open to anyone at the NBSC
- Held in NBSC meeting room
- Led by the study principal investigator
- n = 8, females (n-6) = 75%
- Sample included gardeners and one staff person
- Ages ranged from 56-78 (M=68.87, SD 7.61)

## Quotes

- share ideas
- We get to know each other.
- We take care of each other’s gardens.
- So many people helped me.
- People gave me seeds.
- It got us to think more about the food we eat.
- It got me into this walking thing.
- I bend over more, more stretching.

## Other Responses

- Grow my own food
- Learn new skills, learn things I’d forgotten
- Be in a convenient location
- People from the community came to see the garden
- Started a home garden
- Need help with difficult tasks (shoveling dirt)
- Need local administrative leadership
- The group began to plan for 2005

## NBSC Senior Garden Club:2005 – Bigger and Better

## Flowers and Rhubarb Spruce up the NBSC!

## Positive Outcomes from Gardening

- ↑ Social Activities
- ↑ Emotional Scores
- ↑ Physical Fitness
- Creation of *community* around the garden club.
- Sustainable garden