Background: Farmers have higher risk for suicide than non-farmers but are less likely to consult mental health professionals. They face multiple barriers to mental health help-seeking, although are willing to consult with other agricultural professionals via telephone. Mental health and wellbeing telephone helplines, developed specifically for farmers, could therefore provide a useful, accessible, supportive resource. This review of peer-reviewed and grey literature, aimed to identify existing helplines that focus specifically on addressing farmers’ mental health and wellbeing, and examine each for evidence of utilisation, acceptability and effectiveness for reducing distress.
Method: Informed by PRISMA 2020 guidelines, with the extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR), a scoping review of peer-reviewed and grey literature was conducted. Thirteen databases and Google were searched for information on farmer-specific mental health and wellbeing helplines as well as any evidence of helpline use, acceptability and effectiveness.
Results: The database search yielded 900 articles after duplicates were removed, with under 30 retrieved for data extraction, and over 600 Google links were investigated. Results of the search will be presented. Farmer-focussed helplines operating predominantly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia were identified. Some evidence of helpline use by farmers was extracted but little evidence was found regarding helplines’ acceptability or effectiveness in reducing distress among farmers. Data of helpline use suggested that farmers are more likely to trust and utilise telephone support services that were focussed on them and operated by people who understand the farming way of life.
Conclusion: This review highlighted that research is in this area is scant but promising. There is some evidence of the use of helplines by farmers and farming communities in times of elevated stress. However, given the serious statistics of farmer suicide, there is a pressing need for more rigorous evaluation studies to determine the effectiveness of helplines in reducing distress among farmers, as well as their acceptability as a mental health and wellbeing support resource. The review also highlighted that health initiatives that are co-designed with farmers and staffed by people who genuinely understand farmers’ ways of life are more likely to be used and trusted. This review is a first step in a larger study in which farmers will be invited to help shape the co-development of an Australian farmer-friendly wellbeing helpline that they would be prepared to use, in times of distress.