State of the Science: Mental Health Issues in Agricultural, Vulnerable, and Rural Communities

Details

• Personal Author:
  Arosemena F ; Chasek C ; Dunleavy K ; Grattan LM ; Honeycutt S ; Irani T ; Kandzer M ; Kane A ; Leeman RF ; Lindsey AB ; Lundy LK ; McLeod-Morin A ; Mitchell RC ; Radunovich HL ; Scheyett A ; Smithwick JG ; Stacciarini J-M ; Stokes P ; Telg R ; Wennerstrom A
• Description:
  Stress is a physiological and mental response that affects everyone, though certain populations are more susceptible to its effects. In this publication, the Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety (SCCAHS) highlights stressors that specifically affect populations in agricultural, vulnerable and rural communities (AVRCs)- including small farm owners and operators, Latino farmworkers, and horticultural nursery workers- and how these communities cope and recover from stressors through individual and community resilience. The three main types of stress (NIMH, 2018) are chronic stress, acute stress, and traumatic stress. Chronic stress can include everyday pressures from work, relationships, and routine responsibilities. Other chronic stressors that affect AVRCs can include chronic illness, social isolation as a result of rurality (living in a rural area), weather, and farm finances, which often depend on loans. Acute stress is the result of unexpected negative changes, such as a divorce or job loss. AVRC-specific stressors can include injury or illness, fluctuation in crop prices, changing agricultural regulations, immigration, or changes in agricultural policy and legislation. Finally, traumatic stress is brought on by life-or-death situations, such as war, assault, and major accidents. Natural disasters are especially hard on AVRCs because they can cause the loss of homes and livelihoods, and, as in the case of Hurricane Michael in 2018, AVRCs are not prioritized in recovery efforts (NPR, 2019). Those who experience traumatic stress may show symptoms of mental illness, but these symptoms are often short-term. Communities that learn to live with change and adapt to uncomfortable circumstances are more likely to improve their opportunity for resiliency (Magis, 2010). There are two main types of resilience: individual resilience and community resilience. Individual resilience reflects an individual's ability to overcome and function during and after a traumatic event (Bonanno, 2005). In order to build individual resilience, healthy social and physical environments are instrumental (Buikstra et al., 2010). Community resilience has a two-fold definition. Community resilience deals with a community's capacity to come together and thrive in an environment that faces change, uncertainty, unpredictability, and surprise (Magis, 2010), and also deals with personal attitudes, perceptions, and social coherence (Kimhi, 2016). A resilience activation framework has been proposed to integrate both individual and community resilience in public health (Abramson et al., 2015). Essentially the RAF specifies that an individual's resources for resilience may be activated and enhanced by social support and other community resources post-disaster. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Community Health Services Farmers Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
• Keywords:
  Community Health Farm Workers Mental Health Natural Disasters Traumatic Incident Stress
• Publisher:
  University of Florida
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  Florida ; Georgia ; Nebraska ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-36
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070670
• Citation:
  Gainesville, FL: University of Florida, 2020 Mar; :1-36
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Florida, Gainesville
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20160930
• Source Full Name:
  State of the science: mental health issues in agricultural, vulnerable, and rural communities
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:36a0de786d303ef6d9a6fdda7713de6ff906c7fe5074d673395d2310842ac14b91133695ee7f596274876776631fe918e7d4723574763243d472182fd182ed9f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208846/cdc_208846_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.68 MB ]