GROWING A BACKYARD GARDEN FOR HEALTH AND WELLBEING: A PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING BROCHURE

Abstract

A backyard garden may be an option for families concerned about healthy eating, food sensitivities, and food security. Despite this, backyard gardening is not a topic that nurse researchers have studied and there are few health promotion resources to support urban agriculture. The purpose of this project was to develop a brochure for novice gardeners on how to establish an urban backyard garden to meet their dietary needs. Specific objectives for this project were to identify and summarize professional and lay literatures on urban, backyard gardening in climate Zone 5b (Peterborough, Ontario) and to create a multimedia-friendly brochure for novice gardeners. This thesis consists of a literature review on gardening, nutrition, and the use of brochures as a knowledge translation tool. The Canadian Index for Wellbeing (CIW) and Lewin’s Three-Step Model for Change provided the conceptual framework for project. The methods chapter describes how the information was gathered and analyzed, and the findings chapter summarizes information to guide and support a family in growing their food. The final chapter includes a discussion on food security and household food self-sufficiency and their relationship to health, and the implications for nursing practice, nursing, education, and nursing research.