Toward a Public Health Approach to Farmer Suicide Prevention: The Potential Power of Systems Change.

Abstract

Objective: Suicide among farmers has, over the past 20 years, garnered attention from scholars around the world. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, this paper will present a framework for considering farmer suicide that builds upon the Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicidal Behavior and extends our current explanations of suicide to include a multilevel, multifactorial focus on individual, interpersonal, community and systemic factors at the root of stressors contributing to suicide among farmers. Secondly, a blueprint for farmer suicide prevention, leveraging the Water of Systems Change Model, is proposed.

Method: In the spirit of conveying multi-layered influence on farmer suicide while highlighting relevant levels for prevention a parsimonious, prevention-based model of farmer suicide is presented.

Results: The Water of Systems Change (WSC) model incorporates research to bring attention to the community, organizational, and societal conditions that keep a problem, such as farmer suicide, from being eradicated.

Conclusion: Suicide is a societal issue that requires a multi-level response. Farmer suicide is a particular concern, as farmers provide for and support all of us. It is incumbent upon public health and the community-at-large to improve our policies, systems, and contexts to create an environment in which farmers are also provided for and supported.