University for Development Studies, School of Allied Health Sciences, P O Box 1883, Tamale, Ghana.
Ghana Health Service, Wa West District Health Administration, Wechau, Ghana.
Public Health Nutr. 2024 Jan 23;27(1):e46. doi: 10.1017/S1368980024000272.
This study assessed the extent to which access to home gardens associate with the frequency of fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption.
The study was carried out in fifty rural communities in Northern Ghana where food insecurity and malnutrition including micronutrient deficiencies are prevalent.
A community-based comparative analytical cross-sectional study.
A sample of 847 randomly selected rural households.
The proportion of households that consumed FV at least 3 d in a week was 45 %. Members in households who owned a home garden were 1·5 times more likely to consume FV at least 3 d in a week (adjusted OR (AOR) = 1·46 (95 % CI 1·06-2·0)), compared with their counterparts who had no home gardens. Furthermore, households in which mothers had a positive attitude towards FV consumption were 1·6 times more likely to consume FV (AOR = 1·63 (95 % CI 1·17-2·27)) compared with mothers who were less positive.
Our results suggest that food and nutrition policy measures that promote home gardens can improve consumption of diversified diets including FV among vulnerable rural households in Northern Ghana. Additionally, households with lower income may benefit from nutrition behaviour change communication campaigns directed towards increasing a positive attitude to FV intake.
本研究评估了家庭菜园的可及性与水果和蔬菜（FV）食用频率之间的关联程度。
这项研究在加纳北部的 50 个农村社区进行，这些地区普遍存在粮食不安全和营养不良，包括微量营养素缺乏。
基于社区的比较分析性横断面研究。
随机抽取了 847 户农村家庭作为样本。
每周至少 3 天食用 FV 的家庭比例为 45%。与没有家庭菜园的家庭相比，拥有家庭菜园的家庭中成员每周至少食用 FV 3 天的可能性高出 1.5 倍（调整后的 OR（AOR）=1.46（95%CI 1.06-2.0））。此外，母亲对 FV 消费持积极态度的家庭每周食用 FV 的可能性高出 1.6 倍（AOR=1.63（95%CI 1.17-2.27）），而态度不那么积极的母亲则没有。
我们的研究结果表明，促进家庭菜园的粮食和营养政策措施可以改善加纳北部弱势农村家庭多样化饮食的消费，包括 FV。此外，收入较低的家庭可能受益于针对增加对 FV 摄入的积极态度的营养行为改变传播活动。
