In her exploration of farmer mental health, Dr. Andria Jones and her team have uncovered a myriad of factors – climate change, the pandemic, an unstable economy – that leave those in the profession experiencing heightened levels of chronic stress, depression and anxiety.
New research from the team at the University of Guelph reveals another contributor to the negative impacts of farmer mental health – gender. Women, specifically.
“What we found is that women’s contributions remain undervalued,” says Jones, professor in the Department of Population at the Ontario Veterinary College. “Their mental health is further strained by visible and invisible workloads, and the expectation to safeguard family and community well-being rests primarily on them.”
In a study published in Occupational Health, Jones, former PhD student Dr. Briana Hagen and their co-authors examine qualitative data that addresses a gap in research. They say the mental health of women farmers is more negatively impacted than men. These gendered differences are pervasive and affect farmers on both the individual and community level.
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