University of California San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico, MSC07-4025, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA.
BMC Public Health. 2022 Jun 22;22(1):1238. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-13644-5.
Health behavior interventions, especially those that promote improved diet and physical activity, are increasingly directed toward cancer survivors given their burgeoning numbers and high risk for comorbidity and functional decline. However, for health behavior interventions to achieve maximal public health impact, sustainability at both the individual and organizational levels is crucial. The current study aimed to assess the individual and organizational sustainability of the Harvest for Health mentored vegetable gardening intervention among cancer survivors.
Telephone surveys were conducted among 100 cancer survivors (mean age 63 years; primarily breast cancer) completing one-of-two Harvest for Health feasibility trials. Surveys ascertained whether participants continued gardening, and if so, whether they had expanded their gardens. Additionally, surveys were emailed to 23 stakeholders (Cooperative Extension county agents, cancer support group leaders, and healthcare representatives) who were asked to rate the intervention's ability to generate sustained service and produce benefits over time using the eight-domain Program Sustainability Assessment Tool (PSAT).
The survey among cancer survivors (91.9% response rate) indicated that 85.7% continued gardening throughout the 12 months following intervention completion; 47.3% expanded their gardens beyond the space of the original intervention. Moreover, 5.5% of cancer survivors enrolled in the certification program to become Extension Master Gardeners. The survey among stakeholders generated a similar response rate (i.e., 91.3%) and favorable scores. Of the possible maximum of 7 points on the PSAT, the gardening intervention's "Overall Capacity for Sustainability" scored 5.7 (81.4% of the maximum score), with subscales for "Funding Stability" scoring the lowest though still favorably (5.0) and "Program Evaluation" scoring the highest (6.3).
Data support the sustainability capacity of the Harvest for Health vegetable gardening intervention for cancer survivors. Indeed, few interventions have proven as durable in terms of individual sustainability. Furthermore, Harvest for Health's overall organizational score of 5.7 on the PSAT is considered strong when compared to a previous review of over 250 programs, where the mean overall organizational PSAT score was 4.84. Thus, solutions for long-term funding are currently being explored to support this strong, holistic program that is directed toward this vulnerable and growing population.
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02150148.
鉴于癌症幸存者人数不断增加，且他们罹患合并症和功能衰退的风险较高，健康行为干预措施，尤其是那些促进改善饮食和身体活动的干预措施，越来越针对癌症幸存者。然而，为了使健康行为干预措施产生最大的公共卫生影响，个人和组织层面的可持续性至关重要。本研究旨在评估 Harvest for Health 有指导的蔬菜种植干预措施在癌症幸存者中的个体和组织可持续性。
对完成 Harvest for Health 可行性试验之一或之二的 100 名癌症幸存者（平均年龄 63 岁；主要为乳腺癌）进行电话调查。调查询问了参与者是否继续园艺，如果是，他们是否扩大了花园。此外，还向 23 名利益相关者（合作推广县代理人、癌症支持小组组长和医疗代表）发送了电子邮件调查，要求他们使用八项领域计划可持续性评估工具（PSAT）评估干预措施在产生持续服务和随时间产生效益的能力。
对癌症幸存者的调查（响应率为 91.9%）表明，85.7%的人在干预完成后的 12 个月内继续园艺；47.3%的人将花园扩大到了干预时的空间之外。此外，5.5%的癌症幸存者参加了成为推广园艺大师的认证项目。对利益相关者的调查产生了类似的响应率（即 91.3%）和有利的评分。在 PSAT 的 7 分满分中，园艺干预的“总体可持续性能力”得分为 5.7（满分的 81.4%），其中“资金稳定性”子量表得分较低，但仍为有利（5.0），“计划评估”得分最高（6.3）。
数据支持 Harvest for Health 蔬菜种植干预措施对癌症幸存者的可持续性能力。实际上，很少有干预措施在个人可持续性方面如此持久。此外， Harvest for Health 在 PSAT 上的总体组织得分为 5.7，与之前对 250 多个项目的审查相比，这被认为是强劲的，其中总体组织 PSAT 平均得分为 4.84。因此，目前正在探索长期资金解决方案，以支持针对这一脆弱且不断增长的人群的强大整体方案。
ClinicalTrials.gov 标识符：NCT02150148。
