Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Washington State University (WSU) The Farming Stress and Suicide Prevention (FSSP) project reached more than 1300 agricultural producers in the physical year 2022-23. These producers represented more than 13 different commodities groups including beef from cattle, dairy, hay, nursery, organic vegetable seeds; small, diversified farms, tree fruit, wheat, and several others. Out of the more than 1300 producers engaged by FSSP, 53 producers participated in 134 consulting sessions. Out of the 53 producers who participated in consulting sessions, five were referred to the WSU Psychology clinic for counseling. Farms with sales less than $250,000 accounted for 60% of the consulting sessions. Budgeting, business planning, access to land and transition planning were the most common topics for small farms. Large farms represented the remaining 40% of interactions. The most common topics discussed with large farms included employee management, investment analysis and risk management. Of the consulting sessions, 84% were with the primary decision makers on farms while 16% occurred with secondary or other decision makers. Secondary decision makers included spouses and children of the primary decision maker. Producers seeking help with financial literacy came from a wide range of ages, 45% of consultation sessions were with producers aged 40-49. Washington State Department of Health (DOH) The target audience was farmers, farm workers, and farming families across the state of Washington. Changes/Problems:Washington State University (WSU) In June of 2022 Dr. Elizabeth Weybright elected to go on a sabbatical. Her funding was designated toward the WSU Agricultural Economist on the project. Washington State Department of Health (DOH) It was found to be difficult to find providers that were interested in taking on a voucher program. After a thorough search, we were able to find providers that are able to start seeing clients as of June 2023. The program to date has not been utilized. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Washington State University (WSU) All Faculty/Staff members had the opportunity to become trained in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) and/or Question Persuade Refer (QPR). Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Providers participating in the voucher program will be able to be trained in working with the ag community. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Washington State University (WSU) Given the high population of LatinX community members involved in Agriculture all services associated with the project can be translated to Spanish. The group intends to add a Mixteco translator this summer to further the reach of our services. Washington State Department of Health (DOH) The provider organizations have placed flyers and brochures available at their offices throughout Washington State. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Washington State University (WSU) Continue working with industry associations to present at trade association meetings to raise awareness of FSSP resources. Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Complete a needs assessment to address the needs and barriers that farmers face when it comes to addressing their mental health needs.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Washington State University (WSU) More than 30 presentations across Washington reached over 1300 agricultural producers, raising awareness for the financial literacy resources available through the FSSP project. These presentations would not have been possible without industry support. Industry partners that supported the project included: The Washington State Hay Growers Association, Washington Cattlemen's Association, Washington Dairy Federation, Washington Mint Growers Association, Pacific Northwest Direct Seed Association, Washington FFA Association, Okanagan Horticulture Society, Steven/Ferry County Conservation District, Whitman County Conservation Districts, and Farm Bureau. WSU Extension County offices also play a crucial role in raising awareness for financial literacy resources. Extension agents often work directly with agricultural producers and serve as a linchpin of connection for the FSSP project. Extension agents have included information and presentations in their programming to raise awareness. Without the university extension network this project would not be possible. Washington State Department of Health (DOH) The voucher program has been established and providers are available to provide services to the farming community both in person and virtually.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:The primary target audience is the Washington agriculture community encompassing farmers, farm families, farmworkers, ranchers, producers, pesticide applicators, etc. We aim to provide Farming Stress and Suicide Prevention resources through the following projects: Mental Health Vouchers, Farm Financial Literacy, and Behavioral Health Support. DOH Programs are Mental Health Vouchers Program: The target audience for this reporting period was external stakeholders and partners, including the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA), to share information and plan for program implementation. Community and state partner audience: Graduate student Newburg conducted interviews with community and Washington state partners focused on suicide prevention in rural communities. Washington State University Programs are Mental Health Vouchers and Farm Financial Literacy: As the Western Region Agricultural Stress Assistance Program (WRASAP) PI, Don McMoran has highlighted the Washington State Department of Agriculture Farm Stress/Suicide Prevention grant from USDA NIFA as the model other States should be utilizing for their outreach efforts. Don has mentioned the culmination of research (Weybright), economics (Neibergs), and counseling voucher system (Browne) at conferences like the National Association of County Agricultural Agents (NACAA) Western Region NACAA, Farm Aid, Living on the Land, the Community Farmland Trust as well as the Western Extension Committee Meeting. The audiences of these groups include farmers, farm workers, consumers, and agency representatives. In addition to in-person and online meetings, Neibergs and McMoran were highlighted in an article titled "Ask the Hard Questions" that was run on December 14th by the Good Fruit Grower; here is a link to the articlehttps://www.goodfruit.com/ask-the-hard-questions/. Target audiences were reached through seven presentations and two online articles. All presentations and online articles can be seen below. Presentations 7/8/2021 Total Farmer Health 50 NACAA- AM/PIC McMoran Conference 10/5/2021 Total Farmer Health 50 NACAA Western Region McMoran Conference 9/25/2021 Box Breathing 37,000 Farm Aid McMoran Other 9/27/2021 Farm Stress, Suicide Prevention 1500 Nicole Masters- Integrity Soil- Shift Happens McMoran Other 10/26/2021 Farm Stress, Suicide Prevention 25 Living on the Land-Gary Fredrichs McMoran Other 10/27/2021 Farm Stress, Suicide Prevention 200 Community Farmland Trust McMoran/Hinton Conference 12/15/2021 Farm Stress, Suicide Prevention 12 Western Extension Committee McMoran Conference Articles 9/13/2021 Capital Press Suicide Prevention Grant WSU McMoran https://www.capitalpress.com/state/washington/grant-to-target-stress-suicide-prevention-in-washington-state/article_89a21252-0fea-11ec-8dbd-bfa7cd57a6bd.html 12/7/2021 The Good Fruit Grower Ask the hard questions McMoran/Neibergs https://www.goodfruit.com/ask-the-hard-questions/ Research audience: Graduate student Newburg, along with students, staff, and faculty, presented an academic poster on "Suicide prevention and postvention for vulnerable communities in Washington state: results and policy implications from two literature reviews" at the 2022 Society for Prevention Research conference held from May 31st, 2022 through June 3rd, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. This conference convenes prevention researchers representing various disciplines, including scientists (e.g., prevention science, public health, education) as well as practitioners (e.g., social work), advocates, administrators, and policymakers from various agencies/institutions. Changes/Problems:COVID-19 continues to be a strain on the Farming Stress and Suicide Prevention grant.Washington State University has experienced continued employee shortages. This has resulted in slow invoicing processes. Financial offices are aware of the grant timeline and will be working to meet grant deadlines for invoicing. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During this reporting period, the grant provided two doctoral students with the opportunity to enhance their literature review and synthesis skills, complimenting their academic coursework with real world application. Additionally, it provided the students the ability to attend professional state level workgroups addressing suicide to meet key stakeholders as well as begin to understand the current state of the field and gaps in knowledge. The grant continued to provide two doctoral students with the opportunity to enhance their literature review and synthesis skills, complimenting their academic coursework with real world application. Additionally, it provided the students and two research coordinators the opportunity to plan, conduct, and thematically analyze seven individual interviews with key stakeholders. This activity allowed graduate students and research coordinators to develop qualitative data analysis and reporting skills. Simultaneously, key informant interviews allowed graduate students and research coordinators the opportunity to better identify successes, challenges, and gaps in Washington communities alongside results from the scientific domestic and international literature. Faculty member Dr. Weybright provided mentorship to students and staff throughout this process. The grant also made possible the hiring of Agricultural Economics staff member Jon Driver. Jon is a graduate of the Washington State University College Agricultural Economics and past employee of Northwest Farm Credit Services (Agricultural Bank). Jon has hit the ground running partnering with Washington AgrAbility to attend many agricultural farm shows, meetings and conferences where he will make his services as a free service to go over the balance sheets of farmers and farm workers in Washington State, while looking for signs of crisis. We are scheduled to start delivering content in January, 2022 as noted below: Jan 14, Feb 11, 25 and Mar 3 NW Regional Extension Center, Producer Groups Jan 19, NW Hay Expo, Kennewick Jan 29, NE Hay Growers, Deere Park Feb 3, Spokane Ag Expo How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Work is still underway by our research team to finalize the results from the literature review and individual interviews and to summarize our recommendations in a final report. Consequently, final results have not yet been disseminated to the communities of interest. However, preliminary results were shared at the Society for Prevention Research conference in June 2022. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?DOH plans to: Meet with WDVA again to continue planning for program implementation. Reach out and recruit providers from the WDVA counseling directory. DOH will also implement agricultural competency training for providers prior to serving agricultural community members via vouchers. Work in collaboration with WSU Extension and WDVA to promote the program to relevant community members.? WSU Programs are Mental Health Vouchers and Farm Financial Literacy: Dissemination efforts include: McMoran has been requested to give an interview for the Wall Street Journal. If that interview comes to fruition, Don will be sure to mention the Farming Stress/Suicide Prevention Grant and how it has the potential to save the lives of farmers and farm workers in Washington State. The increased distribution of information and resources for Washington farmers, farm family members, and farmworkers stresses financial management. We are in the process of scheduling additional financial literacy workshops. Plans are to commence individual technical assistance sessions as we engage producers in the workshops. We will finish developing the curriculum and look forward to engaging in providing producers with technical assistance. Our research team will continue to synthesize the results from domestic and international literature reviews with results from the key informant interviews. Results will be compiled into a final report that will be shared with all project members on the Farming Stress and Suicide Prevention (FSSP) project to solicit feedback. The final report will share evidence-based, research-informed suicide prevention approaches in Washington's rural and agricultural communities.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Washington Department of Health has accomplished the following: They have hosted two meetings with staff from WDVA programs, including the Counseling and Wellness Program and Vet Farm Program. The purpose of these meetings was to plan for implementing and collaborating on the counseling voucher program, as WDVA has an existing voucher program for Veterans. In the process of identifying agricultural competency training for service providers in WDVA's network so they can appropriately serve and understand agricultural community members. Contact other states' mental health counseling voucher programs, including in Colorado and Wisconsin, to model after the development of this program. Washington State University has accomplished the following: Graduate students and staff conducted a review of international literature on current best practices and research on suicide prevention in rural, frontier, and agricultural communities. This literature review resulted in an additional 24 articles, which were read in-depth and will help to inform the development of an evidence-based and research-informed suicide prevention approach for the final report. Additionally, we conducted seven 60-90-minute individual interviews with key informants throughout the state of Washington. Key informants represented different agencies, such as the state and county health departments, and institutions such as Forefront Suicide Prevention, a Center of Excellence at the University Of Washington School Of Social Work. Two graduate students and two research coordinators analyzed the interview transcripts using thematic analysis. Faculty member Dr. Weybright provided oversight and mentorship for the qualitative analysis process. Common interview themes will be compared to domestic and international literature review findings for congruence and dissonance, which will be used to inform final recommendations. Empower farmers, ranchers, and producers to improve their financial literacy. Neiberg's WSU team hired an economist to help develop and deliver the financial literacy objectives. That hire has allowed for the initial development of the financial literacy curriculum, which is scheduled to be delivered in January 2022.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Newburg, J., Purser, E., Cooper, B.R., Weybright, E.H., Pascoe, K.M., Hampilos, K.E., & Cayden, E. (2022, June). Comprehensive and indicated suicide prevention and postvention: Results and policy implications from two literature reviews. Poster presented at the annual meeting of Society for Prevention Research, Seattle, WA.
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