Psychosocial work factors and mental health in Norwegian farmers during three decades

The most important resource in agriculture is the human capital. The farming industry in Norway, as in most developed countries, has undergone major changes over the course of the last 30-40 years. Have these changes made an impact on the psychosocial work factors and mental health of farmers? Farmers face a unique set of challenges in their job, but there are also protective factors in the independent nature of the occupation and in the social structure of rural areas. Previous studies have concluded dif ferently on whether or not the mental health of farmers differs from that of the general working population. The Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (Helseundersøkelsen i Nord-Trøndelag, HUNT) is the largest health survey ever performed in Norway, and is one of t he largest health surveys in the world. Data is available from three surveys from 1984 to 2006. Altogether more than 125,000 persons have taken part in HUNT, 4047 to 8811 of whom are "farmers or forestry workers". This provides a unique opportunity to longitudinally investigate whether any changes in the psychosocial work environment and mental health have taken place in this population. The main R&D challenges will be to characterize both independent and dependent variables in a valid way, as well as linkage between HUNT data and other registries. We will cooperate closely with a reference group with members from the agricultural industry. The knowledge gained in this project can be utilized to target preventive health efforts for this occupational group . This will benefit farmers themselves, as well as their families, the local rural community, and companies and organisations dealing directly or indirectly with the agricultural industry. It could also lead to lower health care and disability pension cos ts for society as a whole. It is believed that when taking national differences into account, the results could be useful also internationally, as farmers in industralised countries meet similar challenges.

The most important resource in agriculture is the human capital. The farming industry in Norway, as in most developed countries, has undergone major changes over the course of the last 30-40 years. Have these changes made an impact on the psychosocial wor k factors and mental health of farmers? Farmers face a unique set of challenges in their job, but there are also protective factors in the independent nature of the occupation and in the social structure of rural areas. Previous studies have concluded dif ferently on whether or not the mental health of farmers differs from that of the general working population. The Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (Helseundersøkelsen i Nord-Trøndelag, HUNT) is the largest health survey ever performed in Norway, and is one of t he largest health surveys in the world. Data is available from three surveys from 1984 to 2006. Altogether more than 125,000 persons have taken part in HUNT, 4047 to 8811 of whom are "farmers or forestry workers". This provides a unique opportunity to lon gitudinally investigate whether any changes in the psychosocial work environment and mental health have taken place in this population. The main R&D challenges will be to characterize both independent and dependent variables in a valid way, as well as lin kage between HUNT data and other registries. We will cooperate closely with a reference group with members from the agricultural industry. The knowledge gained in this project can be utilized to target preventive health efforts for this occupational group . This will benefit farmers themselves, as well as their families, the local rural community, and companies and organisations dealing directly or indirectly with the agricultural industry. It could also lead to lower health care and disability pension cos ts for society as a whole. It is believed that when taking national differences into account, the results could be useful also internationally, as farmers in industralised countries meet similar challenges.