Citation

Kohlbeck S, Quinn K, deRoon-Cassini T, Hargarten S, Nelson D, Cassidy L. SSM Qual. Res. Health 2023; 3: e100248.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.ssmqr.2023.100248

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Suicide among adult males in rural America has been increasing. In 2019, the suicide rate among adult men is 27.7 per 100,000, while the rural suicide rate was 40 per 100,000; a rate increase of 39.4% since 1999 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). One rural community that may be at increased risk of suicide are farming communities. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that the farming occupation ranks fourth in male suicides (31.4 per 100,000) (Miller & Rudolphi, 2022, pp. 1–15; Peterson et al., 2020). Farmers encounter significant stress in the course of their work. Some of this stress, as a result of events like relationship discord and general financial concerns, is similar to what is experienced by the general population. However, farmers face unique stressors on a daily basis and very often face an uncertain future that elicits constant worry. A recent systematic review, which examined stressors that farmers across the globe experience, identified a number of stressors that are unique to farming. These stressors include: pesticide exposure, weather uncertainty (including climate change), past farm-related injury, hazards related to farming, farm policies, concern about future of the farm, and working with family members on the farm (e.g., role conflict) (Yazd et al., 2019). It is worth noting that these stressors are often not experienced in isolation. That is, farmers likely experience multiple stressors at a time, in addition to general life stressors.

Stress impacts body functioning as well as mental health and wellness. Experiencing stress in general, particularly chronic stress, can impact memory, cognition, immunity, cardiovascular health, the gastrointestinal system, and the endocrine system (Habib et al., 2017). Chronic stress also impacts mental health. Stress can lead to depression and/or burnout, which in turn can cause problems with focus, memory, and absenteeism, as well as other psychological comorbidities like anxiety (Marin et al., 2011). Again, these outcomes of chronic stress can intensify stress that is already present. From a suicide prevention perspective, this is concerning, as literature has demonstrated a link between stress and suicide (O'Connor et al., 2020). In fact, many theories of suicidal behavior include a component of stress. One such model, which focuses on rural suicide, places rural-related stress (e.g., isolation) as the primary experience that, depending on the presence of support and the likelihood to harm oneself, can lead to suicide (Stark et al., 2011).

Of course, not every farmer who experiences these many stressors goes on to die by suicide. Research has shown that there are factors that can mitigate, buffer against, or counteract the stressors that farmers experience in this work ...

Language: en

Keywords

human; suicide; suicide prevention; female; male; Wisconsin; social support; public health; Public health; qualitative research; Interviews; controlled study; weather; geographic distribution; lifespan; cross-sectional study; qualitative analysis; agricultural worker; Article; job stress; market; Farmer suicide; Photovoice; photovoice; agricultural pest; social ecological analysis