Perceived Stress, Stressors, and Preferred Stress Management Strategies Among Western Agricultural Producers (original) (raw)
Related papers
Developing and Implementing Farm Stress Training to Address Agricultural Producer Mental Health
Health Promotion Practice
Farmers and ranchers (agricultural producers) have higher psychological distress and suicide rates than the general population. Poorer mental health status and outcomes among producers are often attributed to the continuously challenging economic, social, and climate-related changes to agriculture as an occupation and industry. This article describes the development of a training program for agribusiness professionals from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (N = 500) who work with producers, as they regularly interact with producers and thus are in a position to readily offer helpful mental health resources. The goal of the program was for agribusiness professionals to build skills and confidence to identify and respond to distressed producers. The educational program was offered primarily online and included a 1-day in-person training to practice skills to communicate with distressed producers and refer them to appropriate mental health resources. Evaluation of ...
Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health, 2020
Highlights Keywords: Farmers, Health and safety, Needs assessment, Stressors, Survey incentives.Chemicals, equipment/tools, and health outcomes were the greatest perceived health and safety concerns among surveyed agricultural workers. Keywords: Farmers, Health and safety, Needs assessment, Stressors, Survey incentives.Finances, climate/weather, and farm workload and management were the greatest perceived psychological stressors among surveyed agricultural workers. Keywords: Farmers, Health and safety, Needs assessment, Stressors, Survey incentives.Among mail survey respondents, response rates for prepaid monetary incentives were double that of promised monetary incentives. Keywords: Farmers, Health and safety, Needs assessment, Stressors, Survey incentives.There was considerable overlap in the pattern of survey responses across mail and in-person respondents. Keywords: Farmers, Health and safety, Needs assessment, Stressors, Survey incentives.In-person data collection facilitated a...
2021
Focused Question What stress management strategies and interventions are most effective in reducing stress and promoting positive mental health of farmers negatively impacted by work stressors? Clinical Scenario The dynamic transactions between the environment, person, and occupation play a role in the success of the farmer, their access to healthcare, and their willingness to seek support with their stressors or difficulties. Depression, stress, and other mental health conditions are highly prevalent within the farming community. This population is less likely to seek out and utilize available mental health resources and services, and in many cases, mental health resources are not available in rural areas (Gunn et al., 2021; Kennedy et al., 2020). The environment plays a major role in the mental health of farmers. This includes the physical and social environment. Aspects of the physical environment include the plot of land that the farmers cultivate, the animals that they raise, climate factors, and the limited access to healthcare that is often associated with rural areas. Unpredictable climate and weather contribute to stress in the farming community (Gunn et al., 2012; Gunn et al., 2021). Climate change and its effect on the environment is a rising concern of farmers. Climate change and other environmental factors can drastically alter farmers' land and dictate production. The livelihood and financial stability of each farmer depends on crop production, and the success of the harvest. Lack of production can result in higher levels of stress for farmers, which can lead to more mental health problems (Gunn et al., 2012; Gunn et al., 2021). There is also a stigma associated with mental health within the social environment of the farming community. Farmers tend to normalize and ignore their physical and mental health conditions, which leads to fewer people accessing the health services that they need. Ignoring these physical and mental health conditions may be linked to the stigma of not being healthy enough to run the farm (Kennedy et al., 2020). Work stressors can negatively impact the health and well-being of both farmers and their families, and farming is said to have a high-stress work environment (Stier-Jarmer et al., 2020). Farming can become more difficult for workers in high stress environments as mental health conditions increase, and research suggests that mental health conditions can lead to cognitive decline and physical health problems (Gunn et al., 2021). There is growing evidence that those involved in farming are at higher risk of developing mental health problems (Gunn et al., 2021). The occupation of farming keeps farmers active, which can reduce the risks of diseases such as cancer and diabetes; however, it can lead to higher rates of depression (Brumby et al., 2009). The occupation of farming can lead to many physical and mental impairments due to the high stress work environment and risk for physical injury. Farming is a dangerous job that includes many stressors. Farmers are at high risk of stress due to risk factors such as pesticide exposure, the uncertainty of the market, financial problems, time constraints, loss of livestock or property, and governmental regulations (Gunn et al., 2012; Gunn et al., 2021). All of these stress factors contribute to the high rates of mental health conditions that are seen with farmers. Gunn et al. (2021) suggested that this lifestyle makes individuals more vulnerable to mental health conditions such as stress, anxiety, and depression. The occupation of farming and the role of being a farmer can cause high levels of stress, all of which can result in mental health conditions and a higher prevalence of suicide (Gunn et al., 2012; Gunn et al., 2021
Farmers, farm workers and work-related stress
This research explores the ways in which stress affects farming communities, how this has changed in recent years, and the degree to which work-related aspects of stress may be assuaged by support interventions. A qualitative case study research approach was employed to address these issues, involving 60 interviews in five locations across England and Wales. In examining farming stress, a distinction is made between its intrinsic, extrinsic and workrelated dimensions. While interviewees tended to associate day-to-day worries and acute stress with farming’s intrinsic demands (such as disease and adverse weather conditions), external causes of tension (such as competition and regulation), together with worries about finances and family, were associated with more sustained anxieties. By contrast, work-related aspects of farming stress, such as workload issues and farming practices, involved a combination of physical and mental health effects. Notably, work-related and extrinsic dimensions of stress have increased in recent years in relation to organisational and policy shifts, price fluctuations, mounting paperwork demands, workload intensification, and changes in agricultural regulation. These have prompted an escalation in the aspects of their work that farming communities feel powerless to control, and represent a major area for policy intervention. Principal farmers displayed the most visible manifestations of stress, linked at once to the intrinsic, extrinsic and workrelated dimensions of their work. By contrast, family farm workers and labourers often lacked autonomy over the way they worked, and work-related aspects of stress concerning workload and organisation made up a greater part of their experience. Increased paperwork demands emerged as a major cause of stress among interviewees, particularly for farmers and their wives, who struggled to balance these with traditional farming priorities. Differences between farms were also influential in explaining stress. Livestock farming embodied intrinsic pressures relating to stock crises and the unpredictability of animals, but more recently has come under intense economic pressure, prompting a rationalisation of working practices. Arable farmers found the organisation of activities, such as harvesting and planting, in a context of reduced and increasingly contractual workforces particularly challenging. Mixed farmers faced the dual stresses of balancing work activities with conflicting timetables, and the paperwork demands of a complex portfolio of farming. Smaller farms were struggled with intensified workloads, while larger enterprises had to comply with the demands of more inspection regimes. Support agencies need to overcome the stigma attached to asking for help among farming communities and offer a range of responsive and proactive services. Locally based support was more likely to be used and trusted, although concerns about client confidentiality might deter those most in need from seeking help. Where existing local networks were established, there was a strong argument for providers to plug into these and work towards publicising their efforts to ensure that support is provided most effectively. Critically, support must be multidimensional, reflecting the wide range of stressors and their impacts among farming communities.
What Impacts Perceived Stress among Canadian Farmers? A Mixed-Methods Analysis
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Globally, farmers report high levels of occupational stress. The purpose of this study was to identify and explore factors associated with perceived stress among Canadian farmers. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was used. An online cross-sectional national survey of Canadian farmers (n = 1132) was conducted in 2015–2016 to collect data on mental health, demographic, lifestyle, and farming characteristics; stress was measured using the Perceived Stress Scale. A multivariable linear regression model was used to investigate the factors associated with perceived stress score. Qualitative interviews (n = 75) were conducted in 2017–2018 with farmers and agricultural sector workers in Ontario, Canada, to explore the lived experience of stress. The qualitative interview data were analyzed via thematic analysis and then used to explain and provide depth to the quantitative results. Financial stress (highest category—a lot: (B = 2.30; CI: 1.59, 3.00)), woman gender (B = 0.55; CI...
Expanding Effective Behavioral Health Literacy Programs to Address Farm Stress
Journal of Extension
Attention to stress and mental health among agricultural producers has increased over recent years, and Cooperative Extension has been active in offering educational workshops and resources to agricultural audiences. This article describes the process and effectiveness of expanding two (university) Extension farm stress management programs to Cooperative Extension in other states through a national Farm Stress Management Summit. The two-day training Summit provided deeper knowledge about farm stress issues and prepared Extension professionals to offer behavioral health programs in their own communities and respective states. Evaluation findings highlight effective aspects of the Summit and next steps.
Occupational stress among farm and ranch operators in the midwestern United States
BMC Public Health
Background This study used surveillance data from 2018 and 2020 to test the stability of work-related strain symptoms (high stress, sleep deprivation, exhaustion) with demographic factors, work characteristics, and musculoskeletal symptoms among farm and ranch operators in seven midwestern states of the United States. Methods Cross-sectional surveys were conducted among farm and ranch operators in 2018 (n = 4423) and 2020 (n = 3492). Operators were asked whether, in the past 12 months, they experienced extended work periods that resulted in high stress levels, sleep deprivation, exhaustion/fatigue, or other work-related strain symptoms. Covariates included personal and demographic factors, work characteristics, number of injuries, work-related health conditions, and exposures on the operation. Summary statistics were tabulated for explanatory and outcome variables. The classification (decision) tree approach was used to assess what variables would best separate operators with and wi...
Stress, anxiety, depression, and resilience in Canadian farmers
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
Purpose To estimate the prevalence of stress, anxiety, depression, and resilience amongst Canadian farmers. Methods An online cross-sectional survey using validated psychometric scales [Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale] conducted with farmers in Canada between September 2015 and February 2016. Results 1132 farmers participated in the study. The average PSS score was 18.9. Approximately 57% and 33% of participants were classified as possible and probable cases for anxiety, respectively; the respective proportions for depression were 34% and 15%. The average resilience score was 71.1. Scores for stress, anxiety, and depression were higher, and resilience lower, than reported normative data. Females scored less favorably on all mental health outcomes studied, highlighting important gender disparities. Conclusions These results highlight a significant public health concern amongst farmers, and illustrate a critical need for research and interventions related to farmer mental health. These findings are important for policymakers, physicians, and public and mental health service providers, and can help to inform decision-making, policy recommendations, resource allocation, and development and delivery of training programs for farmers.
Stress on the Farm: A Test of the life-Events Perspective Among Iowa Farm Operators
The Journal of Rural Health, 1988
Although a geat deal is known about the nature and s wity of the recent financial crisis in agncultutv, thew has been little systematic study of the social and psychological effects of this crisis upon farm operatots and their families. Using data f i m a stat& s a w of Iowa f a m , this study tests some hypotheses about cornlutes of psycholqical stress. nefindings suggest that many farm opwatotsfind their situations to be shqful and that such s t m B related to the &ty of theirfinan-cia1 problem. In addition, the IiJe-ewats pwspectiw is sramined in its utility to apkzin how a d m economic changes impct py%ological wellbeing. Few sectors of the economy have experienced the economic upheaval that has beset agriculture in the 1980s. Evidence of a financial malaise abounds. As land values have declined (as much as Go% in the Midwest since 1981) so also has farmers' net worth. Average net worth of farm operators in Iowa declined 25 percent in one year (1984-1985; Jolly and Barkema, 1985). Most of this loss in equity was due to depreciated assets rather than to increasing debt, suggesting that the sagging farm economy is undermining the equity of farmers regardless of their management practices or size of operation. Unfomnately, as h l e y (1987) has noted, the pace of agricultml change is so rapid today that it makes both financial and social adjustment difficult. Boehlje (1984) earlier contended that the "Rulebook for Agriculture" has changed in the 1980s. He argued that t r a d i t i~~l strategies to insure ece nomic survival are no longer appropriate. Operators who fail to adjust to the emergent economic realities in agriculture will find themselves in serious fmncial difficulty. Although the farm crisis has impacted the agricultud economy on a national scale, the North Central region has been recOgnized as the area most severely impacted, It is for this reason that the economic condition of the region is well documented and continually monitored. However, as &ley, Conger and Stofferahn (1%) have noted, the impact on rural communities, and especially farm families, is generally less well understd. Forks, N D 58201. THE JCMJRNAL OF RURAL HEALTH