The Effect of a Community Garden on HgA1c in Diabetics of Marshallese Descent

Urban Farm DB summary

A mixed-convergent parallel design intervention study tested whether participation in a community garden could improve diabetes control among members of a Midwest United States community of Marshallese immigrants. Marshallese clients recruited from a local community health center took part in a community garden, and qualitative data from field observations on cultural norms and beliefs, food perceptions and barriers to health care corroborated data gathered at diabetes follow-up medical appointments. Persons who actively participated in the community garden showed a significant reduction in HgA1c after the intervention compared with those who did not participate, though the abstract does not report the number of participants or the size of the reduction.