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Physical and Mental Health Impacts of Household Gardens in an Urban Slum in Lima, Peru

Rural poverty and lack of access to education has led to urban migration and fed the constant growth of urban slums in Lima, Peru. Inhabitants of these informal settlements lack land rights and access to a public water supply, resulting in poor sanitation, an inability to grow food, and suboptimal h...

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Autores principales: Korn, Abigail, Bolton, Susan M., Spencer, Benjamin, Alarcon, Jorge A., Andrews, Leann, Voss, Joachim G.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6121398/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30111712
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15081751
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author Korn, Abigail
Bolton, Susan M.
Spencer, Benjamin
Alarcon, Jorge A.
Andrews, Leann
Voss, Joachim G.
author_facet Korn, Abigail
Bolton, Susan M.
Spencer, Benjamin
Alarcon, Jorge A.
Andrews, Leann
Voss, Joachim G.
author_sort Korn, Abigail
collection PubMed
description Rural poverty and lack of access to education has led to urban migration and fed the constant growth of urban slums in Lima, Peru. Inhabitants of these informal settlements lack land rights and access to a public water supply, resulting in poor sanitation, an inability to grow food, and suboptimal health outcomes. A repeated measures longitudinal pilot study utilizing participatory design methods was conducted in Lima between September 2013 and September 2014 to determine the feasibility of implementing household gardens and the subsequent impact of increased green space on well-being. Anthropometric data and a composite of five validated mental health surveys were collected at the baseline, 6-months, and 12-months after garden construction. Significant increases from the baseline in all domains of quality of life, including: physical (p < 0.01), psychological (p = 0.05), social (p = 0.02), environmental (p = 0.02), and overall social capital (p < 0.01) were identified 12 months after garden construction. Life-threatening experiences decreased significantly compared to the baseline (p = 0.02). There were no significant changes in parent or partner empathy (p = 0.21), BMI (p = 0.95), waist circumference (p = 0.18), or blood pressure (p = 0.66) at 6 or 12 months. Improved access to green space in the form of a household garden can significantly improve mental health in an urban slum setting.
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spelling pubmed-61213982018-09-07 Physical and Mental Health Impacts of Household Gardens in an Urban Slum in Lima, Peru Korn, Abigail Bolton, Susan M. Spencer, Benjamin Alarcon, Jorge A. Andrews, Leann Voss, Joachim G. Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Rural poverty and lack of access to education has led to urban migration and fed the constant growth of urban slums in Lima, Peru. Inhabitants of these informal settlements lack land rights and access to a public water supply, resulting in poor sanitation, an inability to grow food, and suboptimal health outcomes. A repeated measures longitudinal pilot study utilizing participatory design methods was conducted in Lima between September 2013 and September 2014 to determine the feasibility of implementing household gardens and the subsequent impact of increased green space on well-being. Anthropometric data and a composite of five validated mental health surveys were collected at the baseline, 6-months, and 12-months after garden construction. Significant increases from the baseline in all domains of quality of life, including: physical (p < 0.01), psychological (p = 0.05), social (p = 0.02), environmental (p = 0.02), and overall social capital (p < 0.01) were identified 12 months after garden construction. Life-threatening experiences decreased significantly compared to the baseline (p = 0.02). There were no significant changes in parent or partner empathy (p = 0.21), BMI (p = 0.95), waist circumference (p = 0.18), or blood pressure (p = 0.66) at 6 or 12 months. Improved access to green space in the form of a household garden can significantly improve mental health in an urban slum setting. MDPI 2018-08-15 2018-08 /pmc/articles/PMC6121398/ /pubmed/30111712 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15081751 Text en © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Korn, Abigail
Bolton, Susan M.
Spencer, Benjamin
Alarcon, Jorge A.
Andrews, Leann
Voss, Joachim G.
Physical and Mental Health Impacts of Household Gardens in an Urban Slum in Lima, Peru
title Physical and Mental Health Impacts of Household Gardens in an Urban Slum in Lima, Peru
title_full Physical and Mental Health Impacts of Household Gardens in an Urban Slum in Lima, Peru
title_fullStr Physical and Mental Health Impacts of Household Gardens in an Urban Slum in Lima, Peru
title_full_unstemmed Physical and Mental Health Impacts of Household Gardens in an Urban Slum in Lima, Peru
title_short Physical and Mental Health Impacts of Household Gardens in an Urban Slum in Lima, Peru
title_sort physical and mental health impacts of household gardens in an urban slum in lima, peru
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6121398/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30111712
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15081751
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