Male Farmers’ Perspectives on Psychological Wellbeing Self-Management Strategies That Work for Them and How Barriers to Seeking Professional Mental Health Assistance Could Be Overcome
Aligning with findings from previous Australian reports, supporting farmers to prioritise themselves in order to maintain a healthy work-life balance may have long-term positive impacts on mental health and wellbeing.
Context
Researchers from the Department of Rural Health, Freemasons Centre for Male Health and Wellbeing, UniSA Justice and Society, and the School of Psychology at the University of South Australia have examined the self-management strategies that Australian male farmers use to maintain a high level of psychological wellbeing and their views on what would assist them in overcoming barriers to seeking professional mental health assistance.
Research and findings
The research was conducted using semi-structured interviews with males 18 or older who actively participated in farming or pastoral enterprises. Participants were recruited via flyers. Most participants were located in South Australia, with one in Tasmania and one in the Northern Territory.
To ensure the interview responses did not replicate previous research conducted in this area, participants were provided with a summary of barriers to help-seeking for farmers prior to the interviews, informed by the existing literature.
The interviews identified seven overall themes and two sub-themes when identifying self-management strategies for psychological well-being. Five themes were identified as barriers to seeking help from male farmers.
Implications
The research findings suggest that ‘self-prioritising’ to maintain work-life balance can positively affect psychological well-being. Aligning with findings from previous Australian reports, supporting farmers to prioritise themselves along with their work may have long-term impacts on mental health and well-being.
The research also suggests that creating educational content on mental health and suicide prevention may be best distributed and consumed by farmers through podcasts that suit their lifestyles. The research also highlighted the role of media in educating and influencing Australian farmers, of which opportunity exists for the mental health and suicide prevention sector to ensure educational information and help-seeking messages are incorporated into Australian mainstream media channels.