A comparison of barriers to mental health support‐seeking among farming and non‐farming adults in rural South Australia
Abstract
Objective: To assess the differences between farming and non‐farming rural adults in perceived barriers to mental health service use. Design: A cross‐sectional survey, modified from the Barriers to Help‐Seeking Scale ( BHSS ), was conducted using a computer‐assisted telephone interview. Setting: Respondents (age 52.6 ± 11.6 years) were recruited from three rural regions of South Australia. Participants: Approximately, 78 non‐farmers and 45 farmers were included in analyses. 78 retired and two unemployed participants were excluded from the analyses. Main outcome measure: Farmers and non‐farmers were compared on domain scores and individual item responses from the adapted BHSS that represent ‘agrarian’ attitudes to support‐seeking for mental health: stoicism, self‐reliance, minimisation of the problem, stigma and distrust of health professionals. Results: In the analysis of domain scores, ‘Need for Control and Self‐Reliance’ was a stronger barrier for farmers than non‐farmers ( P = 0.009) with a trend ( P = 0.07) towards stronger barriers among farmers in the ‘Minimising Problem and Resignation’ domain. In the analysis of item‐level responses, there was a difference ( P = 0.03) between farmers and non‐farmers in responses to ‘I find it difficult to understand my doctor/health professional’, with 24.4% of the farmers agreeing that this is a barrier compared with 15.3% of the non‐farmers. Conclusion: Long‐held stereotypes of stoicism and self‐reliance among farmers were somewhat supported, in the context of mental health. Mental health services and professionals in rural Australia might need to adapt their practices to successfully engage this population.
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Web-based resources and interventions may provide new avenues to reach those who face structural or attitudinal barriers to accessing face-to-face mental health services.
“new avenues to reach those who face structural or attitudinal barriers to accessing face-to-face mental health services [9]”
From Web-Based Interventions to Help Australian Adults Address Depression, Anxiety, Suicidal Ideation, and General Mental Well-being: Scoping Review (2022) · cites this paper as [9]
Barriers to health care utilization in farmers compared to non-farmers extend particularly to attitudes towards support seeking for mental health problems, such as higher levels of self-reliance and normalizing of problems.
“Barriers to health care utilizations in farmers compared to non-farmers extend particularly to attitudes towards support seeking for mental health problems, such as higher levels of self-reliance and normalizing of problems [34].”
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- Authors
- Hull, M. J., Fennell, K. M., Vallury, K., Jones, M., & Dollman, J.
- Affiliations
- University of South Australia (AU)
- Sansom Institute for Health Research University of South Australia Adelaide South Australia Australia
- Corresponding author
- Hull, Melissa J.
- Venue
- Australian Journal of Rural Health
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2017-06-15
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 347-353
- ISSN
- 1038-5282 (ISSN-L)
- 1440-1584
- OpenAlex
- W2625726938
- Cited by
- 105
- References
- 25
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 5
- FWCI
- 8.57
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Australian Journal of Rural Health (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Adelaide Research & Scholarship (AR&S) (University of Adelaide) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- University of South Australia
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Agriculture and Farm Safety
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender Roles and Identity Studies
- Keywords
- mental health help-seeking, help-seeking barriers, farmers, rural mental health, stigma, self-reliance, Stoicism, rural South Australia
- MeSH terms
- Farmers, Adult, Aged, Australia, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Male, Mental Health Services, Middle Aged, Patient Acceptance of Health Care, Rural Population
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