SynthesisPloS one2021
Evidence on the contribution of community gardens to promote physical and mental health and well-being of non-institutionalized individuals: A systematic review.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The impact of gardening on well-being, mental health, and quality of life: an umbrella review and meta-analysis.Systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Promotive and preventive interventions for mental health and well-being in adult populations: a systematic umbrella review.Frontiers in public health · 2023Pooled it
- A community-informed approach to develop a gardening model for the Bangladeshi community in Brooklyn, NY.Health promotion international · 2026Article
- Association among farming activities, muscle strength, and body composition in middle-aged and older adults.Journal of rural medicine : JRM · 2026Article
- Green Landscapes of Care: The Potential of Gardens to Support the Well-Being of Asylum Seekers in Ireland.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Soil Quality and Trace Element Risk in Urban and Rural Kitchen Gardens: A Comparative Analysis.Toxics · 2025Article
- Growing roots: the role of collective community gardening in cultural food insecurity and social integration of African immigrants in Alberta, Canada.BMC public health · 2025Article
- A culturally tailored community gardening approach to improving physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption, and psychological health among African American women: A pre-post feasibility study.Health promotion perspectives · 2025Article
- Barriers and Facilitators to Engagement in Collective Gardening Among Black African Immigrants in Alberta, Canada.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Relationships between arts participation, social cohesion, and well-being: an integrative review of evidence.Frontiers in public health · 2025Review
- Comparing mapped park and greenspace boundaries in Philadelphia: implications for exposure assessment in health studies.International journal of health geographics · 2024Article
- Understanding Health-Related Motivations for Urban Food Self-Production in the Light of Semantic Fields Analysis.Nutrients · 2024Article
- A qualitative study of the barriers to commissioning social and therapeutic horticulture in mental health care.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Inspired to Garden: A Qualitative Study of Participants' Experiences in an Academic Medical Center Garden.Cureus · 2023Article
- Community Gardens: A Catalyst for Community Change.Health promotion practice · 2023Article
- Article
- The effects of COVID-19 on Central Florida's community gardens: lessons for promoting food security and overall community wellbeing.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Contribution of Home Gardens to Sustainable Development: Perspectives from A Supported Opinion Essay.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- The Impact of Therapeutic Community Gardening on the Wellbeing, Loneliness, and Life Satisfaction of Individuals with Mental Illness.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Community solutions to food apartheid: A spatial analysis of community food-growing spaces and neighborhood demographics in Philadelphia.Social science & medicine (1982) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThere has been growing interest in community gardens as an effective and affordable health promotion strategy. However, most available evidence is derived from qualitative studies, whereas quantitative research on this subject is limited.
objectivesTo synthetize the literature about physical and mental health outcomes associated with community gardening. Two main questions were addressed: a) is there evidence, from quantitative studies, that community gardening is associated to physical and mental health and well-being of non-institutionalized individuals? b) Does community gardening provokes any discomfort in terms of physical health, i.e., bodily pain, to their beneficiaries?
methodsA systematic review of the literature was carried out following PRISMA guidelines by searching relevant electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science). Empirical, quantitative studies published in English with no restrictions concerning the date of publication were considered eligible. The quality of the evidence was appraised using the tool developed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies.
resultsOverall, 8 studies were considered eligible, of which seven studies were rated as having good methodological quality (one scored as fair). Community gardeners had significantly better health outcomes than their neighbours not engaged in gardening activities in terms of life satisfaction, happiness, general health, mental health, and social cohesion.
conclusionCommunity gardens are associated to health gains for their users, irrespective of age, being an affordable and efficient way of promoting physical and mental health and well-being. To encourage the design, maintenance, and prospective evaluation of supportive urban environments promoting healthy and, at the same time, sustainable lifestyles, is essential to achieve public health gains and environmental sustainability.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.