FARM-SP

Background

There are approximately 104,000 farmers in the UK.  In 2020, there were 84 deaths attributed to suicide among agricultural workers in England¹ which is almost double the rate in the general population^2,3. The mental health of farmers is therefore of key concern but has been largely overlooked in research in the UK.

Farming poses many challenges to mental health: living and working in remote and isolated places, working long and physically demanding hours, often in difficult weather. Payments/subsidies to farmers change according to political agendas and farmers are currently suffering moral injury⁴ due to blame attached for climate change and the ‘anti-meat agenda’. Farmer identities are often based on gender and models of resilience, where deviance invites stigma⁵. Women in agriculture are more likely to experience anxiety and depression⁶ whereas males are more likely to experience stigma around help-seeking for mental ill-health and to die by suicide^5,6. Qualitative research on common mental health problems (stress, distress, anxiety and depression) amongst farmers would enhance our understanding of support needs and preferences, which may then inform suicide prevention.

Aim

How can farmers be supported to seek help for common mental health problems?

Objectives:

1. To explore lived experiences of stress, distress, anxiety and depression among famers and better understand the culture of mental health within this community and farming spaces.
2. To explore attitudes and beliefs about help-seeking for mental health problems (stress, distress, anxiety and depression) among farming stakeholders.
3. To identify barriers and facilitators to help-seeking for mental health problems (stress, distress, anxiety and depression) in farmers.
4. To co-design a care framework(s) to connect needs, preferences and opportunities to support help-seeking for mental health problems in farmers and identify novel intervention ideas.

Methods

We will interview about 20 people with long COVID and about 20 community pharmacy staff. We will analyse conversations from these interviews to identify common experiences and themes. We will then present our findings to a group of stakeholders (health care professionals, pharmacists, members of the public), who will help us develop a new online training module for community pharmacy staff.

Results

Watch this space.

Outputs

We will be developing a framework(s) describing existing support, and additional opportunities to support farmers with stress, distress, anxiety and depression with the aim of preventing self-harm and suicide. This framework will inform future grant applications to and intervention development, implementation and evaluation.

We will work with the Lived Experience Advisory Panel group to share the findings as widely as possible to ensure outputs and resources are accessible to as many people as possible.

References

1. Office for National Statistics. Suicide by occupation. 2021. [online] [accessed 27 march 2024] Weblink
2. Nasir R, John E, and Windsor-Shellar, B. Suicides in England and Wales: 2020 registrations. 2021. [online] [accessed 27 Mar 2024] Weblink
3. Phalp L, Corcoran R, Eames C, Naik, A. An exploration of the relationship between adverse events on the farm and suicidal ideation in farmers. International Journal of Social Psychiatry. 2021; 68(8); 1682-1688. DOI: 10.1177/00207640211057712
4. Enticott G. Uses and abuses of farmer’s emotional well-being: Policy story-lines and the politics of the rural. Journal of Rural Studies. 2024;105; 1-10. DOI: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2023.103183
5. Hammersley C, Meredith D, Richardson N et al. Mental health, societal expectations and changes to the governance of farming: reshaping what it means to be a ‘man’ and ‘good farmer’ in rural Ireland. Sociologia Ruralis. 2023; 63(S1); 57–81. DOI: 10.1111/soru.12411
6. Rose D, Bradley F, O’Connor D et al. The mental wellbeing of young farmers in Ireland and the UK: driving factors, help-seeking, and support, Scottish Geographical Journal. 2023. DOI: 10.1080/14702541.2023.2274004