Understanding and addressing psychological distress experienced by farmers, from the perspective of rural financial counsellors

Recognising and Managing Distress Among Farming Clients: An Evaluation of Brief Training for Rural Financial Counsellors and Other Non-Clinical Rural Support Workers

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the impact of a tailored, brief, 3-h training program to help Rural Financial Counsellors and other non-clinical rural support workers recognise and manage distress experienced by their farming clients.

SETTING

Rural, regional and remote Australia.

PARTICIPANTS

Rural support workers (N = 75; primarily Rural Financial Counsellors and Family and Business mentors) undertaking a 2-part, online training programme for recognising and managing distress in farmers.

DESIGN

Individual questionnaires were collected before the first workshop, after the second workshop, and 3 months post completion of both workshops.

RESULTS

Seventy-five participants provided pre-training data. A series of mixed models for repeated measures identified significant improvements in participants' confidence in recognising and managing farmers' distress pre- to post-training. Specifically, increases in confidence in differentiating mild distress from distress requiring professional help (F = 11.30, p < 0.001), skills to use time well (F = 14.17, p < 0.001), recognising distress (F = 9.16, p < 0.001), dealing with the needs of distressed farmers (F = 22.93, p < 0.001), talking to farmers about their wellbeing (F = 16.47, p < 0.001), knowing when to refer farmers for additional support (F = 19.10, p < 0.001), knowing where to refer farmers for additional support (F = 14.00, p < 0.001), were maintained at the 3-month follow-up. Pre- post-training, participants' behavioural intentions to refer their clients to a farmer-specific mental health intervention (www.ifarmwell.com.au) increased (F = 48.26, p < 0.001), which was maintained at 3-month follow-up. The training did not significantly change participants' quality of life or work stress.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest that a brief, tailored training programme significantly increases rural support workers' confidence in recognising and managing distress in their farming clients.

Farming, finance and family: factors associated with anxiety, depression and stress among Western Australian farmers

Farming is a challenging, stressful and rewarding occupation involving many factors that are beyond farmers' control. The aim of this study was to investigate correlates associated with the anxiety, depression and stress of farmers in Western Australia. Farmers and farm residents (N = 124) completed an online survey assessing anxiety, depression, stress, farming stressors, social supports, coping strategies and sense of belonging. Higher financial/external trade and societal pressures, family/relationship tension, use of coping strategies such as self-blame, venting, disengagement and planning, lack of succession planning and considering selling the farm, and lower social support and sense of belonging, were associated with higher anxiety, depression and/or stress. The findings highlight the specific impacts of financial and family pressures on poorer mental health status among farmers. Clinical and community interventions that build on naturally occurring strengths, such as family support and community connectedness, are needed.

A 'Vocal Locals' social network campaign is associated with increased frequency of conversations about mental health and improved engagement in wellbeing-promoting activities in an Australian farming community

BACKGROUND

Farmers face numerous barriers to accessing professional mental health services and instead report a preference for informal support systems, such as lay or peer networks. Farmers also experience barriers to investing time in maintaining or improving their wellbeing, stemming from sociocultural norms and attitudes that are widespread in agricultural communities. The Vocal Locals social network campaign is an ifarmwell initiative that aims to promote conversations about wellbeing and challenge attitudes and behaviours that contribute to farmers' poor mental health.

METHODS

The Vocal Locals campaign was underpinned by the socio-ecological model which explains human behaviour as stemming from interactions between the individual, their closest social circle, the community, and broader society. The campaign ran in Loxton, South Australia, from June to August 2022. Ten community members (8/10 farmers) became 'Vocal Locals' and were supported to share 'calls-to-action' to encourage people in their social networks to engage in wellbeing-promoting activities. A broader communications campaign reinforced key messages and amplified Vocal Locals' activities in the community. The intrapersonal and community-level impacts of the campaign were evaluated via pre- and post-campaign surveys of Vocal Locals and community members respectively.

RESULTS

Vocal Locals reported significantly lower psychological distress (p = .014), and higher positive mental wellbeing (p = .011), levels of general mental health knowledge (p = .022), and confidence helping someone with poor mental health (p = .004) following the intervention. However, changes in stigmatising beliefs about mental illness, confidence recognising poor mental health, and confidence and comfort speaking to others about mental health were non-significant. Community members who were familiar with the campaign reported having significantly more wellbeing-related conversations post-campaign compared to before (p = .015). Respondents also reported being more comfortable speaking to others about mental health or wellbeing (p = .001) and engaging more in activities to maintain or improve their wellbeing (p = .012) following the campaign.

CONCLUSIONS

The Vocal Locals social network campaign is an example of how science and community can be brought together to achieve meaningful outcomes. The campaign may serve as a model for others who wish to challenge attitudinal or knowledge-related barriers to help-seeking and improve engagement in wellbeing-promoting activities in difficult-to-reach communities.