Journal of Agromedicine最新文献

Objectives: This exploratory study aims to: 1) evaluate mental health stigma levels among agricultural youth directors, 2) examine the influence of professional characteristics on stigma, and 3) investigate the relationship between agricultural youth directors' stigma levels and their self-efficacy.

Methods: An online survey was administered from March to May 2022 to 642 agricultural youth directors in Illinois who work with youth aged 1-19. Directors' personal and perceived stigmas toward mental illness were measured using the Depression Stigma Scale. Directors' self-efficacy (perceived level of knowledge and confidence) across 19 mental health topics was measured using a 3-point Likert scale. Analyses were conducted by generating descriptive statistics and performing Mann-Whitney U tests on the data.

Results: The median personal depression stigma score was 7.57 (SD = 8.02). Our analyses identified significantly higher personal depression stigma scores among men, FFA advisors, agricultural educators, and those lacking personal experience with mental illness. A lack of self-efficacy correlated significantly with increased personal stigma.

Conclusions: This study underscores the critical need for targeted educational interventions to reduce stigma among agricultural youth directors and enchance mental health literacy. Anti-stigma and mental health literacy initiatives are essential for fostering a supportive environment that encourages open discussions about mental health issues with youth within the agricultural community.

Objective: Increased risk of occupational exposure to bioaerosols has long been recognized in livestock operations including dairy facilities. Spanning the inhalable fraction (0-100 μm), dairy bioaerosols comprise a wide variety of inflammatory components that deposit in the nasopharyngeal region. The resultant inflammatory response from bioaerosol exposure is likely driving the increased prevalence of respiratory disease observed in dairy workers. It is also thought the microbiome of the upper respiratory system may help mediate this inflammation. We investigated the viability of a low-cost hypertonic saline nasal rinse intervention in modulating inflammatory responses in bioaerosol exposed dairy workers and its impact on microbial diversity.

Methods: Pre- and post-shift nasal rinses were administered and collected alongside full shift inhalable personal breathing zone (PBZ) samples for each participant for up to 5 consecutive days. Treatment group participants (n = 23) received hypertonic saline rinses while control group participants (n = 22) received normotonic saline rinses. Particulate matter (PM) and endotoxin concentrations were quantified from PBZ samples using gravimetric and enzymatic analytical methods, respectively. Pre- and post-shift rinses were analyzed for pro- and anti-inflammatory markers and microbial diversity using a multiplex assay and 16S rRNA sequencing, respectively.

Results: PM and endotoxin concentrations were comparable between groups indicating similar exposures. Post-shift pro-inflammatory markers were significantly higher than pre-shift for IL-13 (p = .047), IL-1β (p < .001), IL-6 (p < .001), IL-8 (p < .001), and TNF-α (p = .024). There was no evidence of a difference in log concentrations between intervention group or day among any of the measured inflammatory markers. Anti-inflammatory IL-10 concentrations increased across the 5 sample days, independent of treatment group suggesting tonicity may not be driving the change. However, this result was not significant (p = .217). Nasal microbiome alpha (within sample) and beta (between sample) diversity metrics did not differ significantly between group or day demonstrating no adverse washout intervention effects.

Conclusion: This study provided encouraging results that warrant future research to further evaluate saline nasal rinses as a workplace intervention.

Objective: Women have always played a crucial role in agriculture through their work on the farm, caring for the family and the household, and off-farm employment. Yet, like their essential contributions to agriculture, their mental health and well-being have largely been invisible since much of the focus of the mental health in agriculture research has been on older, male farmers. This paper seeks to address this knowledge gap by focusing on the emotional consequences stemming from the expectations of juggling childcare responsibilities, farm work and managing the household whilst keeping children safe.

Methods: The data were collected via focus groups and photovoice activity with, respectively, 68 and 33 farm women from Ohio, Wisconsin, and Vermont.

Results: The content thematic analysis first indicates that the juggling of multiple roles along with limited support deeply impacted farm women's wellbeing. Worries that the children could get hurt was a major source of stress. Stress and mental health issues connected to children do not lessen as they age but rather shift and become more complex.

Conclusion: This article highlights the implications of the lack of investment in farm women's mental wellbeing and their lived realities of caring for children on the farm. Future research should address supply chain and affordability issues, particularly for rural childcare provision.

Objectives: Grain storage facility entrapments continue to be of concern in the agricultural industry, with nearly 1,500 documented incidents recorded over the last 45 years. Previous research studies have shown that attempting to extricate a full-size pulling test dummy from a grain mass requires a substantial amount of tensile or pull force - e.g. up to 1.32 kN if "buried" at waist depth, 2.77 kN at chest depth, and 4.01 kN at head depth. There is, however, a paucity of studies on the amount of distraction the human lumbar spine region can endure. The objective of this research study was to test the maximum tensile force that could be exerted on a sheep's spine (comparable to the human spine) before the intervertebral discs and surrounding ligament would show signs of failure.

Methods: Eight lumbar-region sheep spine segments were axially distracted using an MTS Criterion tensile testing machine, and the maximum forces were recorded.

Results: The average maximum force that the spinal discs and ligament withstood before showing signs of failure was 2.14 kN (standard deviation of 0.31 kN). This is comparable to the force required to extricate an individual entrapped in a grain mass at chest depth.

Conclusion: The authors recommend that grain entrapment victims should not be forcefully pulled out if buried to waist level or above due to two primary reasons: (1) the large variation in failure load observed in our experiment with sheep spines and (2) the lack of knowledge regarding the victim's pre-existing medical condition. The extractive forces required to remove a victim of entrapment in grain overlaps with the force needed to cause potential damage to the sheep spine, as the 1.7-3.0 kN range is comparable to the 1.65-2.48 kN force range that causes axial failure in the spine.

Introduction: Each year, over 700,000 people die by suicide worldwide, and far more attempt and are impacted by the outcome. Agriculture is one of the most dangerous industries in which to work; it is also exposed to a lot of external stressors, such as climatic conditions, market forces (both input and output) and government regulation, as well as internal such as employment and of staff, multiple skills required and isolation. These stressors contribute to the higher rate of farm suicide cases. While there is growing evidence of the protective circumstances (factors) that protect against suicide and suicidality, more needs to be done in the agricultural sector.

Objective: To review global literature and consolidate the current knowledge regarding protective factors against suicide and suicidality in agricultural communities and elucidate the implications of these findings.

Method: A systematic scoping review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-Sc). A range of databases was searched for the terms "suicide*" or "suicidal behavior", "suicide attempt", or "suicidal ideation", or "suicidality", and "farm*" or 'agricultural worker*' or 'rancher*' and 'protective factors' or protect". Paper included had to be peer reviewed in English, include people living, working in or with agriculture or lived in an agricultural area.

Results: Fourteen studies met the study criteria, predominately (72%) from the United States of America and Australia. Four (29%) articles discussed individual coping mechanisms and self-reliance as protective factors against suicide and suicidality, while six (43%) described the influence of social support and perceived sense of belonging on suicide risk. Five (36%) papers examined the association between health-promoting and suicide-prevention initiatives as protective factors in agricultural communities.

Conclusion: There is limited, however, growing literature about protective factors for the prevention of suicide in agriculture; however, it is skewed to high-income countries. This review demonstrates a link between the development of individual coping skills as a protective factor against suicide in agricultural communities, with a primary focus on farming occupations within this setting. Social support was found to help reduce suicide risk by increasing a sense of belonging. These need to be exploited to drive down suicide rates.

Objectives: The level of greenhouse farmers' personal protection in pesticide use and the possibility of environmental protection through farmers' willingness to reduce chemical sprayings were assessed in Khuzestan Province, Iran.

Methods: A survey of 80 active greenhouse vegetable growers was carried out in 2021 with face-to-face interviews. Willingness to reduce chemical sprayings was examined with the theory of planned behavior (TPB) model.

Results: Several intoxication symptoms were reported, with the most common symptom of pesticide intoxication being dizziness. Farmers showed unsafe or rather unsafe use of personal protective equipment (PPE) during pesticide handling. The maximum use of PPE pertained to the use of mask, spray clothing, and long-sleeved shirts. On a scale from 1 (= totally disagree) to 5 (= totally agree), the respondents showed negative attitudes towards reducing chemical sprayings (mean = 2.30), rather low levels of subjective norms (mean = 2.67), and rather low levels of perceived behavioral control over reduction of chemical sprayings (mean = 2.76). The TPB variables accounted for 73% of the variance in farmers' behavioral intention. Overall, farmers' behavioral intention to reduce chemical sprayings was almost neutral.

Conclusion: Increasing knowledge of the adverse effects of pesticides on health is necessary to promote safety behavior of farmers in the greenhouse.

Financial, environmental, and socio-cultural challenges affect the mental health and wellbeing of those working and living on-farm. Education programs can help in improving mental health and overall wellbeing, but most of these programs are offered to established farmers in a face-to-face format, leading to a gap in offerings to many subgroups, including young agricultural entrants. To address these gaps, this paper assesses the value of an online mental health and resilience education program for young agricultural entrants. An explanatory sequential mixed methods approach was applied. Firstly, a quantitative survey was conducted with 172 first year agricultural tertiary students, aged 18-20, to assess the knowledge and skills gained due to program participation. Regressions and propensity score matching were used to determine the effect of program participation. Subsequently, seven interviews were conducted with program participants to provide insights into their experiences of the program. Thematic coding was applied to analyze the qualitative data. Findings from the quantitative survey show a significant increase in mental health knowledge and skills amongst program participants compared to participants in the control group. The qualitative interviews show the ability to work through the material in their own time and space, creates a safe environment for online students. Other mechanisms contributing to learning are using "normal language", a peer voice in communicating wellbeing, and building on learnings in previous education. This paper addresses a gap in literature by being the first study to evaluate online mental health education for agricultural tertiary students. It provides educators and other program designers with valuable information for future program design to support the wellbeing of young agricultural workers.

Objective: Migrant farmworkers are at an increased risk of experiencing high levels of stress, depression, anxiety, and problematic substance use. Farmworker behavioral health is a predominant concern for agricultural health and safety efforts. While substance use has been found to be a visible part of the work environment among farming populations, there is scarce information about how farmworkers who are exposed to substance use at work are impacted.

Methods: This exploratory assessment investigated the association between substance use exposure at work and migrant farmworkers' (N = 58) symptoms of depression, anxiety, and coping strategies used. Univariate, bivariate, and regression analyses were conducted to examine data from a survey administered to migrant farmworkers in Southern California's Riverside and Imperial Valley counties.

Results: Exposure to substance use at work was significantly associated with farmworkers reporting more severe symptoms of anxiety (p = .018). We also found that anxiety among farmworkers was significantly related to their experiences of sexual harassment (p = .026), being called names or insulted (p = .05), feeling unsafe (p = .005), having an increased work burden (p = .001), and caring for a colleague (p = .001). Furthermore, as exposure to substance use at work increased, farmworkers reported more severe symptoms of depression (F (1,45) = 7.90, p = .007) and anxiety (F (1,45) = 16.743, p = .001). To cope, the farmworkers in our sample reported using emotion-focused coping strategies most often.

Conclusions: Substance use exposure at work can affect migrant farmworker health and safety. Addressing and supporting the behavioral health of the entire farming community is warranted.

Introduction: Health, safety, and well-being training programs provide essential education on anticipating, identifying, and mitigating exposures like infectious diseases. Gaps in infectious diseases awareness and education became especially apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently were exacerbated by mis- and disinformation.

Methods: Vaccine-preventable infectious diseases training (influenza, hepatitis A and B, and tetanus infections, including COVID-19) was developed, delivered, and evaluated among 1,043 farmworkers, bodega workers, and production management in the Rio Grande Valley using mobile-learning technologies. The Kirkpatrick Four-Level Training Evaluation Model was utilized to evaluate training satisfaction (Level 1), effectiveness (Level 2), and effect on behavior (Level 3).

Results: The mean score on the pretest before training was 67.8% (SD 17.5), and the mean score on the same test immediately after the video training was 77.2% (SD 17.9). A paired t-test revealed that knowledge improved significantly from pre- to post-training (p < .05). We observed a difference between mean pre- and post-test scores relative to the pooled standard deviation, resulting in an effect size estimate of 0.53 indicative of a medium learning effect.

Conclusion: There is no "silver bullet" for training migrating bodega and farmworkers. Our findings suggest that the utilization of m-learning techniques continues to be a successful mechanism for delivering health, safety, and well-being awareness training content to agricultural workers in remote and challenging work environments. There is a long overdue need for offline capable software with features that allow equitable access to training, even in remote farming regions.