Cornfield J, Odinga H, Kermani J, Theall KP, Chaparro MP. Enablers and Barriers of Community Garden Use in New Orleans, Louisiana: An Environmental Assessment and Qualitative Analysis.
Am J Health Promot 2023;
37:356-365. [PMID:
36202219 DOI:
10.1177/08901171221131710]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE
To explore factors associated with community garden use.
APPROACH
Environmental assessment of community gardens and semi-structured interviews.
SETTING
New Orleans, Louisiana.
PARTICIPANTS
10 community gardens (environmental assessment), 20 community members (including garden users and non-users) and garden administrators (qualitative interviews).
METHOD
Gardens were assessed based on (1) accessibility, (2) information, (3) design, (4) cleanliness, (5) walkability, (6) parking, and (7) noise. Semi-structured interviews took place over Zoom; transcribed interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis.
RESULTS
Gardens assessed in the environmental assessment ranked high in design and cleanliness but low on accessibility and information availability. Salient themes from the qualitative interviews include skill-building, access to fresh foods, and increased social engagement as enablers of community garden participation, with availability of information and time as both potential enablers of, or barriers to, participation. Community members perceived that gardens could increase fresh food access, while administrators believed that it is not possible for community gardens to produce enough food to create community-wide impact, highlighting instead the importance of the social aspects of the garden as beneficial for health.
CONCLUSION
Community gardens should improve garden physical accessibility and information availability to incentivize use. Community gardens are valued as means for skill-building and social engagement. Future research should prioritize investigating the association between the social aspects of participating in community gardens and health outcomes.
Collapse