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When students feel connected to their school, they experience positive health and academic outcomes. In contrast, school disengagement is a predictor of dropout, delinquency, and substance use. School garden programming has the potential to help children achieve academic outcomes and feel connected to their school. Unfortunately, most school garden research has been conducted with white, affluent study participants. We describe the results of a secondary analysis utilizing data from an evaluation of a university-supported community school garden program (CSGP). Using a cross-sectional survey study design, we examined the impact of school garden programming in Title I schools on primarily Latino/a (Hispanic) elementary student self-reported learning and feelings of school connectedness by comparing students with [less than or equal to]1 year exposure to those with >1 year. Social cognitive theory formed the conceptual basis for the analysis. Duration of school garden exposure did not have a significant association with self-reported learning or feelings of school connectedness. Regardless of past exposure, fifth-grade students, females, and those who identify as Latino/a (Hispanic) felt that school garden programming improved their learning. Latino/a (Hispanic) students who participate in school garden programming may also feel a greater sense of connection to their teachers and peers at school. Qualitative results demonstrated that most students enjoyed spending time in the garden and indicated that participating in the program helped them learn new things and feel connected to their school. If individuals who may be disadvantaged because of systemic racism, such as Latino/a (Hispanic) students, can benefit from school garden programming, such interventions should be further investigated and prioritized.

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) has five competencies: relationship skills, responsible decision-making, self-awareness, social awareness, and self-management. A promising practice to promote positive SEL is school garden programming. There is a need to understand how school gardens impact SEL by consolidating existing research. In this scoping review, we synthesized evidence describing the impact of school gardens on youth SEL. We included studies that described school garden interventions, collected data from youth, and measured SEL. We screened 1589 abstracts and 76 full-text articles. Eight studies met the inclusion criteria. While the included qualitative studies demonstrated that school garden programming can positively influence SEL, the included quantitative studies had few statistically significant results. Thus, at this time we can only say that qualitative research from five studies suggests that school garden programs have the potential to successfully enhance experiences that promote SEL but more research is needed to further investigate this claim.

Background: Our objective was to evaluate the effect of garden-based learning on outlook and behaviors toward vegetables among primarily Latinx students. An educational strategy, garden-based learning is a teaching tool that complements other disciplines. Methods: Third- and fourth-grade students at 4 elementary schools with different garden programs completed a bingo survey and participated in class discussions to measure outlook and behaviors toward vegetables. Results: Students in schools with more garden exposure were more likely to answer "Yes" to survey questions reflecting a positive attitude and behaviors toward vegetables. In class discussions, students most often mentioned vegetables grown in the school garden as their favorite vegetables. Conclusion: For third- and fourth-grade students, the length of exposure to a school garden appears to have a positive impact on both perceptions of and desire to consume vegetables. Other studies have shown that positive outlook and behaviors toward vegetables can change vegetable consumption habits in children. Integrating garden-based learning into the school curriculum may positively influence eating behaviors over the long-term future.

Importance: Hispanic adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D) are more likely to develop complications and die from the disease than the US general population. Digital storytelling interventions are narrative-based videos elicited through a community-based participatory research approach to surface the authentic voices of participants overcoming obstacles to health-promoting behaviors that perpetuate health inequities; research on the effect of digital storytelling on T2D outcomes among Hispanic adults is lacking., Objective: To assess the impact of a digital storytelling intervention on glycemic control and its acceptability among Hispanic patients with poorly controlled T2D., Design, Setting, and Participants: This was a multicenter, randomized clinical trial conducted within 2 primary care networks in Minnesota and Arizona among Hispanic adults with poorly controlled T2D (hemoglobin A1c level ≥8%). Enrollment and follow-up were conducted between February 14, 2019, and November 1, 2023., Intervention: The intervention group viewed a 12-minute digital storytelling video. The video included 4 Spanish-language stories that reinforced 4 diabetes self-management behavioral goals (healthful diet for diabetes, physical activity, medication adherence, and glucose self-monitoring). The control group received printed, culturally tailored T2D education materials., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was the mean change from baseline to 3 months for hemoglobin A1c levels, adjusting for baseline hemoglobin A1c, age, gender, education, and income. Acceptability and narrative quality of the intervention were assessed through questionnaires., Results: There were 451 study participants, with 227 (mean [SD] age, 54.3 [9.3] years; 158 [69.3%] women) randomized to the intervention group and 224 (mean [SD] age, 54.5 [9.1] years; 156 [69.3%] women) to the control group. Of these, 390 completed 3-month follow-up of the primary outcome (86% retention). There was a small improvement in the mean (SD) hemoglobin A1c level in the intervention group compared with the control group in the adjusted model (9.1% [1.7] to 8.4% [1.6] vs 9.4% [1.8] to 8.8% [2.0]; P = .04] but not in the unadjusted model. Acceptability and narrative quality of the intervention were high., Conclusions and Relevance: In this randomized clinical trial, a digital storytelling intervention developed with and for Hispanic adults with T2D was highly acceptable and feasibly implemented within primary care settings and resulted in a modest improvement of glycemic control. This was a highly scalable intervention that may be integrated into clinical practice as part of a longitudinal diabetes self-management program for Hispanic adults., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03766438.