Reading-based research into rural mental health nears completion
The University of Reading project is looking at providing better support for farmers and their families
Last updated 18th Nov 2021
Early results from a mental health survey conducted amongst UK farmers shows many struggled during the pandemic due to a lack of social support.
The University of Reading is leading research into how farmers and their families coped with the pandemic to see if support for them can be improved.
Dr David Rose Associate Professor of Agricultural Innovation said:
"On the business side there were challenges due to supply chain disruption and lack of labour. Socially farmers struggled by not being able to get off the farm - they were unable to attend agricultural shows, or the pub or auctions and they were places they could see friends and share problems."
Dr Rose says they plan a meeting next year which will be attended by decision makers where the results of the research can be discussed:
"To ensure that the support system for farmers is joined up it's accessible to farming families when they want to have support and to try and find ways of encouraging farming families to seek support because it's not weak to ask for support and that message has to be got across a bit more as well."
Research Project
The experience of a pandemic at a time of rural change presents a range of unique challenges to farmers, rural communities and the civil society organisations that support them.
To address this, the university team has established a research project Landscapes of Support: Farmer wellbeing and rural resilience through and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you’d like to find out more about the project or would like to be involved, please get in touch.
This research is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), as part of UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19.
Survey for supporters of farming mental health (e.g. NHS, chaplains, YFCs, charities, marts, shows)