U of A Researcher Identifying Main Stressors for Farmers

Nov 08, 2022

Over the next two years a researcher at the University of Alberta is working to identify the biggest stressors farmers are dealing with to help get them more mental health help, a Nov. 7 news release said.

Rebecca Purc-Stephenson, a psychology professor and research associate with the Alberta Centre for Sustainable Rural Communities at the U of A’s Augustana Campus is conducting the research.

“We’d really like to shift the culture of farming to recognize that mental health is just as important as running the farm, and that it’s OK for farmers to talk about it and seek help when they need it. And we want service providers to know how to communicate with farmers and what their stressors are,” she said.

“While we won’t be able to eliminate the ongoing work stressors farmers face, we can help them build resilience so they feel more capable of coping.”

The research is being done in collaboration with the Agriculture Research and Extension Council of Alberta (ARECA) and supported by $524,500 in funding awarded to the group by Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation, through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

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