Progress 09/01/21 to 08/29/24
Outputs
Target Audience:In order to stay on brand, professional photography was contracted and completed to provide bright, lively and appropriate images for use in the website, social media, swag, and brochures targeting the audience of farmers, farm families, mental health providers, and agribusiness.educating farmers, rural communities, and agribusinesses on the unique needs of the farming community, best practices of responding to and supporting the mental health needs of rural families, particularly farm families. Changes/Problems:Challenges: Because the 988 commission gave each state only two years to develop, complete, and implement an already challenging infrastructure, developing a curriculum in an ever changing system was difficult. 988 went live in July of 2022, however the onboarding standards of training and policy handbook is still being developed. In order to secure sustainability of the Farm Stress 988 crisis call center training and in accordance to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline Standards of Practice, meetings were held with 988 training committees to assure compatibility. To date the standars of training are not in practice through 988. As a result, employees are not yet required to take the Crisis Call Center Training. Challenges: The farming community is a very close community filled with a work ethic that can work for them or against them at times. Because farmers work very long hours, the challenge has always been how do you get mental health information in their hands in an easily accessed and appropriate way. In order to meet this challenge, you need to meet the farmers where they are, which is in the field, in the farm office, at their homes, and in their communities. Through grant media outreach support the Purdue Extension Farm Stress Team has been able to bring up to date, information, and accurate mental health information and support to all Indiana farms. Challenges: In order to develop an comprehensive, but appropriate program, the curriculum team was challenged with the audience the team was serving. For example, the needs and stressors of an agirbusiness worker are very different than a farmer, farm family, and/or rural communities. In addition, farmers and farm families are also only available for programming during the winter months. ?Challenges: Employers are often time overworked and are bombarded with the day to day workings of their businesses. As a result, engaging employers about mental health can be difficult due to time constraints and human resource policies. By providing 24 hour access to the toolkit, emloyers are able to use the toolkit at will. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Major Activities completed: held farm focus groups with Indiana farmers to learn about farm stressors, barriers to seeking mental health treatment, mental health stigma association with the farming and agrucutlural community, created a Purdue Farm Stress Team Advisory board, created research profile from other extensions working on farm stress across the country, held curriculum development meetings with curriculum development team, piloted new curriculum with Farm Stress team and others associated with agriculture. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Major Activities: Met weekly with grant development team and monthly with the Indiana Meat Packers Association to learn the needs of employers. Piloted several articles with IMPPA to learn the receptiveness of employees. Created on brand fact sheets, resource pages, example newsletter articles that would resonate with all agribusiness employees. Created a space on the Purdue Extension Website for the toolkit to be downloaded by any employee seeking assistance. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Develop and implement educational programming to train call center personnel on the unique challenges and best practice of responding to and supporting rural communities, particularly farm families Major activities completed: continued leadership on 988 development and infrastructure team, gained IRB approval for call center training pre and post survey, collaborated with 988 (Dr. Chris Drapeau - Executive Director of Prevention, Suicide Prevention and Crisis Response) to complete the call center landscape analysis that identifies currently operating call centers in the state of Indiana. By serving on the 988 advisory board, specialized population committee, and core committees, the farming and agricultural communities in the state of Indiana have been identified as an underserved and specialized population that will require training. Collected data from the 988 State Planning Landscape Questionnaire Results: Indiana funded by Vibrant Emotional Health (Vibrant), administrators of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, developed pillars of experiential learning for the online training module, secured pilot site (Be Well Indiana) for online training module. Developed online training module and transcript for 988 call center training, secured contracts with Relias for online training platform. The training draft and transcripts were sent for informal review to all four NSPL Centers. Held weekly meetings with Relias online platform development team to establish timelines, curriculum development and approval of content in order to maintain the integrity and sustainability of 988 crisis call center training in accordance with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline standards of practice. Completed training and pilot in November of 2022. Roll out of the training was shared on all social media outlets as well as with the Director of Indiana's licenscing board for certified counselors, all 988 call centers beginning in January of 2023. Objective 2: Expand public promotion of stress reduction and mental wellness promotion with farmers, farm families and agribusiness persons. Major activities completed: Met with ag comm to design Purdue Far Stress Team promotional displays and brochure, secured booth at National FFA convention, record and post "Tools for Today's Farmers" podcasts, reach out for media advertisement proposals, purchased promotional items with branding for Purdue Farm Stress Team, ordered tablecloths for booth management, gathered mental health awareness handout materials for booth, manned booths at all conventions, discussed website with website committee, met with campus to redesign Purdue Farm Stress Team website - complete branding overhaul. Reserved booth space at Howard County Farm Bureau annual meeting, Becknology Days, Midwest Pork Conference, National FFA Convention, Indiana Farm Bureau Convention, Indiana Farm Equipment &Technology Expo, Fort Wayne Farm Show, Indiana Meat Packers Association, Live Well Be Strong Mental Health Fair, Indiana State Fair, Central Indiana Field Day, National Alliance of Mental Illness, Midwest pork, Indiana Farm & Tech expo, Indiana Farm Bureau conventions, and Women in Agriculture Conference, ordered transport aids for booth setup, gathered research on mental health in agriculture, logged and summarized articles for literature review, reviewed media advertisement proposals, responded to media inquiries about the grant and completed interviews, designed and coordinate video presentation on Purdue Farm Stress Team for the Indiana Rural Health Association's 23 programs indicated by this grant. Secured radio advertising campaign with Hoosier Ag Today: 25 stations across the state of Indiana with multiple advertising platforms including morning news, e-newsletter, radio show and podcasts. Held interview with WPTA Channel 21 Fort Wayne to create a Digging Deeper 10 minute segment during all news casts titled: Helping the Hands that Feed Us. Met monthly with Indiana Meatpackers to identify chronic stress in their industry and discuss plans of action to increase mental health awareness, write radio advertisement tags, record monthly updates for radio, create and organize social media and website advertisements, write presentation for Indiana Rural Caucus, respond to multiple media inquiries at the National Farm Machinery Show. Met with Purdue Extension Farm Stress Team in a retreat style format to organize the team, align goals and mission areas for future collaborations and delegation of activities. This team retreat allowed individuals who had not done any work on this grant to learn about the objectives and find out how they can help advance efforts. As a result of this team retreat, new subcommittees for Social Media and PR outreach were defined. This will allow the message of mental health to be more consistently distributed through multiple media channels. Also, during this time, multiple news outlet interviews were completed that allowed the team to share the specific progress of this grant and enable farmers to engage in conversations surrounding mental health. Worked with Lamar printing to create 7 billboard campaigns across the state of Indiana aimed at reducing the stigma of mental health in the farming community. Through grant support a second round of brochures and farm stress swag for tradeshows were purchased as well as Farm Stress Team apparel in order for the team to be easily identified. Because tradeshows are well attended, the grant allowed for a proper carrying case to protect the Farm Stress Team display. In order to stay on brand, professional photography was contracted and completed to provide bright, lively and appropriate images for use in the website, social media, swag, and brochures targeting the audience of farmers, farm families, mental health providers, and agribusiness.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:farmers, farm families, agribusinesses, AG professionals and young farmers, community-based organizations, AG classrooms at schools, Indiana Department of Environmental Management. IRHA conducted pre- and post- evaluations at all workshop events conducted. The impact on the agricultural and rural communities is reflected in the below data from our evaluations overall. All workshop evaluations conducted over the entire grant period are included:Attendees' years of experience in the farming industry ranged from 0 to grew up on a farm, lifetime in farming, to 76 years. IRHA conducted pre- and post- evaluations at all workshop events conducted. The impact on the agricultural and rural communities is reflected in the below data from our evaluations overall. All workshop evaluations conducted over the entire grant period are included: Attendees' years of experience in the farming industry ranged from 0 to grew up on a farm, lifetime in farming, to 76 years. Specific ranges: 25 attendees' had 50 + years of experience 47 attendees' had under 50 years of experience 73 attendees' had 25 or less years of experience Target demographic reached. Pre-evaluation Results I am aware of mental health services in my area: Yes - 78.8% No - 24.2% I am aware of telehealth services available to me: Yes - 58.7% No - 41.3% I am familiar with the Upper Midwest Telehealth Resource Center: Yes - 7.7% No - 92.3% I am familiar with the Purdue Farm Stress Team resources: Yes - 24.6% No - 75.4% I am familiar with QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) training: Yes - 23.2% No - 76.8% I am attending the Healthy Minds, Healthy Lives program for which of the following reasons: To be more knowledgeable of the stress factors that can indicate mental distress and/or Illness (70,1%); To become more aware of resources that are available to address mental health concerns, distress and/or illness (67,4%); To be more knowledgeable of how to use/access telehealth services (45,6%); To be more knowledgeable of indicators of suicide risk (58,2%); To gain tools, information on how to assist someone with mental health issues, illness, and/or suicidal thoughts (77,8%); Other: provide response (6,1%) Changes/Problems:Objective 1: Develop and implement educational programming to train call center personnel on the unique challenges and best practice of responding to and supporting rural communities, particularly farm families Challenges: Because the 988 commission gave each state only two years to develop, complete, and implement an already challenging infrastructure, developing a curriculum in an ever changing system was difficult. 988 went live in July of 2022, however the onboarding standards of training and policy handbook is still being developed. In order to secure sustainability of the Farm Stress 988 crisis call center training and in accordance to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline Standards of Practice, meetings were held with 988 training committees to assure compatibility. To date the standars of training are not in practice through 988. As a result, employees are not yet required to take the Crisis Call Center Training. Objective 2: Expand public promotion of stress reduction and mental wellness promotion with farmers, farm families and agribusiness persons. Challenges: The farming community is a very close community filled with a work ethic that can work for them or against them at times. Because farmers work very long hours, the challenge has always been how do you get mental health information in their hands in an easily accessed and appropriate way. In order to meet this challenge, you need to meet the farmers where they are, which is in the field, in the farm office, at their homes, and in their communities. Through grant media outreach support the Purdue Extension Farm Stress Team has been able to bring up to date, information, and accurate mental health information and support to all Indiana farms. "The Farm Stress-ISDA-Call Center" with an additional $45,300.00 Objective 1: Develop and implement a training educating farmers, rural communities, and agribusinesses on the unique needs of the farming community, best practices of responding to and supporting the mental health needs of rural families, particularly farm families. Challenges: In order to develop an comprehensive, but appropriate program, the curriculum team was challenged with the audience the team was serving. For example, the needs and stressors of an agirbusiness worker are very different than a farmer, farm family, and/or rural communities. In addition, farmers and farm families are also only available for programming during the winter months. Objective 2: Develop an online accessible/downloadable business toolkit for agribusiness employers to address the mental health needs of their employees. Challenges: Employers are often time overworked and are bombarded with the day to day workings of their businesses. As a result, engaging employers about mental health can be difficult due to time constraints and human resource policies. By providing 24 hour access to the toolkit, emloyers are able to use the toolkit at will. Farming is an inherently stressful job, filled with very long hours, potential isolation, ever changing financial demands, and pressures of weather and generational responsibility. In 2021, a National American Farm Bureau Poll conducted by Morning Consult found: 52% of rural adults and 61% farmers/farm workers were experiencing more stress and mental health challenges compared to the previous year. When our bodies are stressed, we do not recognize the difference between psychological and physical threats. As a result, our bodies respond in the same way as to something we perceive as negative, overwhelming, and/or threatening. Agricultural production has been increasingly recognized as a high-stress, high-risk occupation. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, farmers and farm works experience fatal injuries at a rate nearly seven times that of non-farm civilian occupations. Farming is also chronically plagued with stressors of the unknown including weather, regulations, input costs, and market prices to name a few. In recent events this is compounded by the emotional and financial trauma of COVID-19 impacts on the farm operation and family with ongoing uncertainty, emotional, financial and tangible challenges. This increasing financial strain threatens the livelihood and heritage of our family farms resulting in chronic stress, anxiety, and depression for farm families. In addition, those working within the mental health sector often state that they have never had training or support when navigating the special culture that farming and agriculture creates. As a result, the need for avenues for training is vital for sustaining the support for our farming and agricultural communities. Many steps have to occur in order for a farmer or farm family to recognize their stress is negatively impacting their daily lives and/or relationships. In 2021, the Purdue Extension Farm Stress Team conducted farm focus groups with farmers across the state of Indiana. Impressions from the focus groups are as follows: Participants noted how hard it is to ask for help, the traits typical of farms are being fixers who always know what to do or say, they feel ashamed that they cannot "fix" it themselves, if someone reached out to them first, and noticed their stress, that might be different, would seek help from pastors or others who knew and understood farming such as other farmers, families in 4-H, FFA, Ag teacher, neighbor, and were most concerned with making sure that person understands farming and can be trusted with confidentiality. Care is most effective and well-received when it is culturally appropriate and meets the needs of the patient. In a policy statement, the National Association for Rural Mental Health notes that, rural mental health service providers have many disadvantages in comparison to their urban counterparts including a "lack of training programs in rural mental health" which contribute to the disparity of care available to farmers and rural communities (narmh.org/index.php/publications-changes/). As farmers often state, they would be more willing to seek out help through individuals inside the farming and agricultural community. The need for psychoeducational training for those immersed in the community is needed to help identify potential warning signs of stress within the farmer or farm family to include those who are helping the family. While a few universities and organizations have agricultural mental health content or curricula, the Purdue Extension Farm Stress Team has identified the need for specific adaptations that would more directly benefit Indiana farmers and agribusinesses. In addition, the primary method of educating individuals through extension has historically been in-person programs that require active participation and data-dense information distribution. Through technology, however, the methods of providing educational opportunities have diversified. Virtual programming, social media use, recorded videos and podcasts are just a few of the avenues used to distribute meaningful programming to communities. These methods have proved especially helpful in reaching rural communities who do not have abundant access to resources like healthcare or educational programming for adults. According to Farrell and McKinnon, "Technology has the potential to decrease the gap in services and improve education, support and connectedness between the client and the provider (2003). Podcasts, for example, have been identified as innovative and portable methods for educating listeners, which is ideal for farmer audiences who tend to multitask or spend time driving equipment (Rajic 2013). What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Objective 1: Develop and implement a training educating farmers, rural communities, and agribusinesses on the unique needs of the farming community, best practices of responding to and supporting the mental health needs of rural families, particularly farm families. Objective 1) Farming in Agriculture: Helping for a Happier Harvest curriculum was developed after extensive research through farm focus groups, agribusiness research, and programming to train farmers, rural communities, and agribusinesses on the unique needs of the farming community, best practices of responding to and supporting the mental health needs of rural families, particularly farm families. Results of Objective 1.) 332 mental health care workers, farmers, farm families, and/or agribusiness employees participated in educational programming. Farming in Agriculture: Helping for a Happier Harvest produced the following results post survey: : I can identify stress reduction techniques specific to the farming and agricultural community? (100%), I can identify common statements from farmers that may indicate signs of distress? (100%), I am confident in my ability to address agricultural stress (75%), and I learned new skills related to helping those experiencing agricultural stress (75%). Objective 2: Develop an online accessible/downloadable business toolkit for agribusiness employers to address the mental health needs of their employees. Objective 2) The Purdue Farm Stress Toolkit was developed after working with the Indiana Meat Packers Association and other agribusiness across the State of Indiana. The goal is to provide something a little more formal to identify the needs of employees that allows them to retain some anonymity - which in turn allows them to be more honest in their answers. Asking employees to raise their hand in a staff meeting if they're experiencing stress at work or at home is not necessarily going to get the best results, if any. The Purdue Farm Stress Team has done the research for employers and developed a survey that can be used to get a better understanding of what employees are going through. The following is the link to download the toolkit: https://extension.purdue.edu/farm_stress/resources-and-links.html Topics are as follows: Employee Survey, IMPPA Poster 1, IMPPA Poster 2, Managing Workplace Conflict Toolkit, Mental Health Resources Flyer, Team Building Ideas, and Results Spreadsheet. Results of Objective 2) The Indiana Meat Packers Association has begun a mental health campaign to be included in all Facebook posts as well as IMPPA newsletters. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Objective 2: Expand public promotion of stress reduction and mental wellness promotion with farmers, farm families and agribusiness persons. Major activities completed: Met with ag comm to design Purdue Far Stress Team promotional displays and brochure, secured booth at National FFA convention, record and post "Tools for Today's Farmers" podcasts, reach out for media advertisement proposals, purchased promotional items with branding for Purdue Farm Stress Team, ordered tablecloths for booth management, gathered mental health awareness handout materials for booth, manned booths at all conventions, discussed website with website committee, met with campus to redesign Purdue Farm Stress Team website - complete branding overhaul. Reserved booth space at Howard County Farm Bureau annual meeting, Becknology Days, Midwest Pork Conference, National FFA Convention, Indiana Farm Bureau Convention, Indiana Farm Equipment &Technology Expo, Fort Wayne Farm Show, Indiana Meat Packers Association, Live Well Be Strong Mental Health Fair, Indiana State Fair, Central Indiana Field Day, National Alliance of Mental Illness, Midwest pork, Indiana Farm & Tech expo, Indiana Farm Bureau conventions, and Women in Agriculture Conference, ordered transport aids for booth setup, gathered research on mental health in agriculture, logged and summarized articles for literature review, reviewed media advertisement proposals, responded to media inquiries about the grant and completed interviews, designed and coordinate video presentation on Purdue Farm Stress Team for the Indiana Rural Health Association's 23 programs indicated by this grant. Secured radio advertising campaign with Hoosier Ag Today: 25 stations across the state of Indiana with multiple advertising platforms including morning news, e-newsletter, radio show and podcasts. Held interview with WPTA Channel 21 Fort Wayne to create a Digging Deeper 10 minute segment during all news casts titled: Helping the Hands that Feed Us. Met monthly with Indiana Meatpackers to identify chronic stress in their industry and discuss plans of action to increase mental health awareness, write radio advertisement tags, record monthly updates for radio, create and organize social media and website advertisements, write presentation for Indiana Rural Caucus, respond to multiple media inquiries at the National Farm Machinery Show. Met with Purdue Extension Farm Stress Team in a retreat style format to organize the team, align goals and mission areas for future collaborations and delegation of activities. This team retreat allowed individuals who had not done any work on this grant to learn about the objectives and find out how they can help advance efforts. As a result of this team retreat, new subcommittees for Social Media and PR outreach were defined. This will allow the message of mental health to be more consistently distributed through multiple media channels. Also, during this time, multiple news outlet interviews were completed that allowed the team to share the specific progress of this grant and enable farmers to engage in conversations surrounding mental health. Worked with Lamar printing to create 7 billboard campaigns across the state of Indiana aimed at reducing the stigma of mental health in the farming community. Through grant support a second round of brochures and farm stress swag for tradeshows were purchased as well as Farm Stress Team apparel in order for the team to be easily identified. Because tradeshows are well attended, the grant allowed for a proper carrying case to protect the Farm Stress Team display. In order to stay on brand, professional photography was contracted and completed to provide bright, lively and appropriate images for use in the website, social media, swag, and brochures targeting the audience of farmers, farm families, mental health providers, and agribusiness. farmers, farm families, agribusinesses, AG professionals and young farmers, community-based organizations, AG classrooms at schools, Indiana Department of Environmental Management Number of Participants: 730 total healthcare providers, health department staff, community leaders, Future Farmers of America (FFA), Farm Bureau, Faith Leaders, Community Health Workers, social service organizations, Corn Belt Seed conference and Indiana Farm Equipment and Technology Expo attendees What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Objective 1: Develop and implement educational programming to train call center personnel on the unique challenges and best practice of responding to and supporting rural communities, particularly farm families Major activities completed: continued leadership on 988 development and infrastructure team, gained IRB approval for call center training pre and post survey, collaborated with 988 (Dr. Chris Drapeau - Executive Director of Prevention, Suicide Prevention and Crisis Response) to complete the call center landscape analysis that identifies currently operating call centers in the state of Indiana. By serving on the 988 advisory board, specialized population committee, and core committees, the farming and agricultural communities in the state of Indiana have been identified as an underserved and specialized population that will require training. Collected data from the 988 State Planning Landscape Questionnaire Results: Indiana funded by Vibrant Emotional Health (Vibrant), administrators of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, developed pillars of experiential learning for the online training module, secured pilot site (Be Well Indiana) for online training module. Developed online training module and transcript for 988 call center training, secured contracts with Relias for online training platform. The training draft and transcripts were sent for informal review to all four NSPL Centers. Held weekly meetings with Relias online platform development team to establish timelines, curriculum development and approval of content in order to maintain the integrity and sustainability of 988 crisis call center training in accordance with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline standards of practice. Completed training and pilot in November of 2022. Roll out of the training was shared on all social media outlets as well as with the Director of Indiana's licenscing board for certified counselors, all 988 call centers beginning in January of 2023.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Through grant efforts and support Indiana's Agricultural Community increased knowledge on mental health and mental health services, reduced mental health stigma, and bridged the gap of communication between agriculture and mental health awareness. In addition, Indiana call center employees learned about farm specific stressors, potential lethal means, and farm specific resources through a completed virtual learning platform accessible to all Indiana call centers, specifically 988. Through the approved scope of work, the following impact and activities occurred: Objective 1: Develop and implement educational programming to train call center personnel on the unique challenges and best practice of responding to and supporting rural communities, particularly farm families Objective 1.) Completed Indiana call center landscape analysis through Vibrant Emotional Health including 19 call centers and the National Suicide Prevention hotline, identified/developed partnership with state-level entities that track and/or work with Indiana call centers through the Department of Mental Health, served on Indiana 988 advisory council and training subcommittee, formed relationships with all five 988 Indiana call centers (Be Well Indiana, Remedy Live, Crisis Center Inc., A Better Way in Muncie, and Mental Health America Wabash Valley Region.) Through work with 988 learned staff size, credentials, training plans, duration and frequency; types of calls received, including topic and caller demographics; perceived ability to serve the farming community; knowledge base on the farming community/access to lethal forms as it relates to the farming community, and/or unique needs of farmers in crisis and resources; perceived need for and willingness to receive specialized training and how that training might complement existing training. As a result, farming and agricultural training is being recognized as a specialized population and will be offered to all 988 call center employees after onboarding. The 988 crisis call center curriculum development team completed development of online/interactive training for 988 Indiana call centers on the following topics: Key figures in farmer demographics, different phrases, equipment, environments, and equipment used by farmers, potential stressors unique to agriculture, potential lethal means on a farm, and resources for after care. Secured partnership with Be Well Indiana to pilot training in November of 2022, secured Relias - online training platform company. Results of Objective 1: 13 Crisis call center employees completed the training. Farmers in Agriculture: Crisis Call Center Training has produced the following results: there was a positive post average of an increase in knowledge in all training areas, I am able to identify the most common demographics of farming and rural community members (10% pre-training/100% post training), I can provide resources specific to agriculture (0% pre-training/90% post training, I recognize common and potential lethal means that exists on farms (30% pre-training/100% post training). 100% of participants report knowledge gained in all questions asked post training. Objective 2: Expand public promotion of stress reduction and mental wellness promotion with farmers, farm families and agribusiness persons. Results of Objective 2) Supported grant partner (Indiana Rural Health Association) in conducting/restructuring trainings, and supported all PR efforts: marketing materials, PSA video development, establishment of contacts with Indiana TV/radio outlets, solicited interviews, created soundbites for radio, and continued social media and podcasts outreach. The Purdue Extension Farm Stress Team website was updated with new branding. Grant support allowed for the purchase of the Purdue Farm Stress Team tradeshow booth. The direct Indiana impact includes: Tools for Today's Farmers Podcasts: 47 episodes, 4,073 plays (6% Australia), 48% female, 48% male, and 4% not specified. The average age of the podcast listener was 30-50 years old which is representative of the agricultural community and the average age of farmers. Tradeshows: 17 with over 166,514 interactions to include but not limited to the National FFA convention and Indiana Women In Agriculture. Indiana agriculture is one of the most productive industries in the nation. Eighty percent of Indiana land is involved in agricultural production. Indiana ranks 5th in corn production and is the 8th largest exporting state in the nation. Indiana is in the top 5 states in poultry, eggs, pork, dairy, and ethanol production. Agriculture is a major economic driver in the state, contributing over 31.2 billion dollars to the state economy. The farmers that make up this industry depend on a timely, relevant, and credible source for information every day. Hoosier Ag Today is that source. With the largest network of local radio stations across the state, several web and digital channels, and a convenient mobile app, Hoosier Ag Today has become the source that farmers rely on to stay informed. Every day, HAT radio stations reach 50% of Indiana farmers; and our e-newsletter reaches ~8,000 people, mostly farmers and agribusiness leaders. A team of nationally known farm broadcasters make Hoosier Ag Today the largest farm news organization in the state. Network programs contain futures prices, analysis, an Indiana farm forecast, plus on-location coverage of state, national, and international farm news. Through grant support, The Purdue Farm Stress Team completed two separate mental health campaigns with Hoosier Ag Today: 25 stations weekly advertisements about mental health. Fifteen tv, news, radio, article interviews about Farm Stress were completed reaching over 4 million viewers. Through grant support two separate PSA videos were completed highlighting farm stress and stress in the meat packing industry creating 5,621 views. The Purdue Extension Farm Stress Facebook page has reached over 238,175 users. The Farm Stress Team webpage has reached over 12,000 users highlighting grant efforts and outreach. Seven billboard campaigns began in June of 2023 that will reach over 4.2 million impressions in communities with statistically high farmer suicide rates. In addition, over 6,000 educational materials and brochures supporting mental health and reducing the stigma of mental health have been disseminated through trade show outreach. Anecdotal input is as follows: "I never really thought about the farmers in the field as having stress. I'm glad I know now so I can hopefully help them." - NAMI conference booth interaction, "My family does not talk about stress." -youth interaction at the National FFA convention, and "Thank you for taking care of us and our mental health needs" -Indiana farm wife . Partnerships have also been formed through grant efforts with The American Association of Meat Processors: AAMP, Indiana Rural Health Association, National Alliance of Mental Illness, Perdue Farms, 988, and the Indiana Suicide Prevention Network. "The Farm Stress-ISDA-Call Center" with an additional $45,300.00 ?
Publications
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Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:Farming and agricultural community, over 1 million participants; farmers, farm families, and agribusinesses, 52 participants. Changes/Problems:Challenges: Because the 988 commission gave each state only two years to develop, complete, and implement an already challenging infrastructure, developing a curriculum in an ever changing system was difficult. 988 went live in July of 2022, however the onboarding standards of training and policy handbook is still being developed. In order to secure sustainability of the Farm Stress 988 crisis call center training and in accordance to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline Standards of Practice, meetings were held with 988 training committees to assure compatibility. Challenges: The farming community is a very close community filled with a work ethic that can work for them or against them at times. Because farmers work very long hours, the challenge has always been how do you get mental health information in their hands in an easily accessed and appropriate way. In order to meet this challenge, you need to meet the farmers where they are, which is in the field, in the farm office, at their homes, and in their communities. Through grant media outreach support the Purdue Extension Farm Stress Team has been able to bring up to date, information, and accurate mental health information and support to all Indiana farms. IRHA paused activities in April 2022 before a return on investment was recognized. Withdrawal of the subrecipient presented some challenges. Working around harvest and planting season is challenging, as well. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Through the approved scope of work, the following impact and activities occurred: Completed Indiana call center landscape analysis through Vibrant Emotional Health including 19 call centers and the National Suicide Prevention hotline, identified/developed partnership with state-level entities that track and/or work with Indiana call centers through the Department of Mental Health, served on Indiana 988 advisory council and training subcommittee, formed relationships with all five 988 Indiana call centers (Be Well Indiana, Remedy Live, Crisis Center Inc., A Better Way in Muncie, and Mental Health America Wabash Valley Region.) Through work with 988 learned staff size, credentials, training plans, duration and frequency; types of calls received, including topic and caller demographics; perceived ability to serve the farming community; knowledge base on the farming community/access to lethal forms as it relates to the farming community, and/or unique needs of farmers in crisis and resources; perceived need for and willingness to receive specialized training and how that training might complement existing training. As a result, farming and agriculutre training is being recognized as a specialized population and will be offered to all 988 call center employees after onboarding. Secured partnership with Be Well Indiana to pilot training in November of 2022, secured Relias - online training platform company, supported grant partner (Indiana Rural Health Association) in conducting/restructuring trainings, and supported all PR efforts: marketing materials, PSA video development, establishment of contacts with Indiana TV/radio outlets, solicited interviews, created soundbites for radio, and continued social media and podcasts outreach. Fifty individuals received certification in QPR, a world-renowned-suicide prevention program following trainings at the 5 workshops conducted. Attendees received booklets about QPR, which contain ample information about mental health conditions and suicide prevention. This outreach aided in stigma reduction and education. A one-page document about the HMHL program was developed and shared with agricultural organizations at the Indiana State Fair. Each workshop conducted was comprised of farmers, farm families, agricultural organizations, community leaders, community members, and healthcare providers. Workshops included information about how to connect with telehealth, the Purdue Farm Stress Program, IRHA Help (online resource tool) and a QPR training. Mental health and suicide prevention resource page was developed and placed on the HMHL website. This is also available in hardcopy form, along with numerous other resources. Folders have been put together with several resource materials for attendees of community meetings, workshops, and other outreach efforts. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Major activities completed: continued leadership on 988 development and infrastructure team, gained IRB approval for call center training pre and post survey, collaborated with 988 (Dr. Chris Drapeau - Executive Director of Prevention, Suicide Prevention and Crisis Response) to complete the call center landscape analysis that identifies currently operating call centers in the state of Indiana.Collected data from the 988 State Planning Landscape Questionnaire. Developed online training module and transcript for 988 call center training, secured contracts with Relias for online training platform. IRHA's initial goal was to conduct 23 workshops across the state. IRHA conducted 5 workshops prior to April 2022. Through these 5 workshops, HMHL reached 58 people, most with 8 to 66 years of agricultural experience. IRHA's revised scope of work incorporated working with farm-related organizations and potentially large farms to include a mental health segment to existing group meetings. IRHA also plans to have 3 regional workshops. The regions for these workshops have been identified in collaboration with Purdue Extension. QPR will be a part of these regional workshops. Otherwise, IRHA will be offering online QPR trainings. Overall, the goal is the same with a different format and approach.
Publications
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