Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The AgWellness program was developed to support Utah's farmers, ranchers, agricultural workers, and their immediate families by addressing the unique mental health challenges within the agricultural sector. Recognizing the acute stressors in rural areas--such as social isolation, financial pressures, and limited mental health resources, our primary focus has been on reaching these communities where the need is often greatest. At the same time, we provide statewide access to our services to ensure that agricultural producers in more urban and developed regions can benefit from our resources as well. To effectively connect with our target audience, we engaged through a variety of local and state events that aligned with the agricultural community's needs. On a local level, we presented, advertised, and participated in county Extension events such as crop schools, dairy education meetings, pesticide application trainings, and fruit grower workshops. These local gatherings allowed us to establish trust within each community and offer resources directly relevant to participants' daily lives. At the state level, we attended large-scale events that drew a broader agricultural audience, such as the Utah Farm Bureau Fusion Conference, Utah Association of Conservation Districts meetings, the Wool Growers Annual Meetings, and others. These events allowed us to reach a diverse range of agricultural producers, from sheep and cattle ranchers to crop farmers. Through this targeted outreach, we are continually working to address mental health challenges within Utah's agricultural community and help producers access essential support, regardless of their location. Changes/Problems:Our original plan for our voucher system was to administer it as a reimbursable option. After the first few submissions came in, it was clear that a reimbursement process would not work and may compromise the participants' privacy. It presented multiple challenges from the user side and from our administrative side. Fortunately, we were able to pivot and work out a system that allowed for us to be able to pay directly for services with a credit card. This system allowed for services to happen and payment to be streamlined. It is certainly a method that we would recommend to anyone wanting to do something similar in the future. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?"The Biggest Asset is You" training was approved by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food to qualify as a safety education credit for pesticide applicators certifications. This certification allowed for the Ag Wellness Team to present the training, the resources, and Ag Wellness vouchers to all of those who attended. The training is still approved today as a credit. Many private agricultural sector firms requested specific training for their employees or had them attend an event that had already been scheduled for professional development. This allowed their employees to be aware of signs, symptoms, and resources that could be shared with the agricultural producers/clients that they serve. An example of the reach that the training had was to companies like the Bear River Valley Co-Op, Western Ag Credit, Dairy West, Utah Farm Bureau, Utah Cattleman's, and Utah Wool Growers, etc. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results have been disseminated through multiple statewide and national conferences. These include the USU Extension Annual Conference, Dairy West Regional meeting (Bosie, ID), National Dairy Young Producer Meetings, Western States Commissioner of Agriculture Meetings, and multi-state speaking invitations. The outcomes and impacts will be highlighted at the Rural Health Association of Utah's Annual Conference in November 2024. The results have also been shared with the University of Utah's Psychology department, who will be collaborating with the USU Extension to gather qualitative data for future grant opportunities. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
A needs assessment was administered to Utah's rural Farmers and Ranchers in 2021 to evaluate personal mental health symptoms, perception of friends and family members mental health, and the need for mental health education in their area. The needs assessment also explored the appropriate format for educational interventions to be administered effectively, which highlighted the need for online resources and short, accessible training (i). Assessment Results: Have you ever felt that you struggled with mental health symptoms? Often - 20% Sometimes - 59% Not at all - 20% Have you noticed friends, family, or agricultural producers struggling with mental health issues? Yes - 66% No - 34% Interest level by topic: Signs I can look for in myself, my family, or my employees that signal mental health struggles. 87% (somewhat or very interested) What can I do if I am struggling with mental health issues? 76% (somewhat or very interested) How can I help someone if I see they are having mental health struggles? 90% (somewhat or very interested) What delivery method would be ideal to receive Mental Health Outreach? Face to Face - 1 Hour Workshop - 17% Online Webpage and Virtual Learning - 40% Workshops at Agriculture Association Meetings/Conventions - 25% Mental Health First Aid Training- 8 Hour Training - 8% Other - 10% The needs assessment suggested that online webpages/virtual learning and one-hour workshops at Agriculture Association Meetings/Conventions were the preferred method of learning about mental health. In response to this survey, two online courses were created, "AgWellness Course" and "Mental Health Awareness & Advocacy for Ag." An hour-long workshop tailored towards agricultural conferences was also created, "Our Biggest Asset is You." The workshop specifically addressed concerns from the needs assessment, including signs and symptoms of mental health struggles, assisting someone in a mental health crisis, and referring loved ones to appropriate resources. The Biggest Asset is You training also covers local statistics and stigma reduction. The workshop was continuously evaluated for effectiveness and increased knowledge among participants with a pre and post survey administered every session. These results were shared with the AgWellness team and collaborators and adjustments were made as needed (iv). The mental health resource section of the workshop was also updated as more options became available throughout the state. Behavioral health resources were compiled and added to the USU Extension AgWellness website, including national suicide prevention hotline and local behavioral health access centers and providers. The USU Extension Mental Health website was also updated in 2024 and linked directly to AgWellness, giving a comprehensive overview of help available throughout the state of Utah (iii). The USU Extension AgWellness website also houses peer-reviewed fact sheets with information specific to the agricultural community, including stress reduction, relationships, finances, and dealing with grief and loss (v). The AgWellness Podcast is also available on our website, which has released over 14 episodes with 736 listeners from October 2021 to June 2024. There are plans to continue podcast interviews and discussions on mental health in the farming and ranching community in the future (vi). One of the biggest accomplishments of the AgWellness team was the success of the Mental Health Assistance Voucher program (vii). We were able to connect with over 240 farmers throughout the state of Utah that were in need of financial assistance to make therapy appointments accessible for them and their families. The grant funding paid for over 1600 behavioral health appointments with licensed clinical providers (including outpatient visits, emergency inpatient admissions, and virtual appointments). Throughout the process of connecting with local therapists, we were able to build trust and rapport with rural clinics and create a support network for participants interested in the program. By providing reliable funding for the agricultural clients, participants were able to attend therapy consistently and learn tools to help them manage day-to-day stressors. We were able to utilize the majority of the funding for therapy appointments by December 2023, with $15,000 set aside for emergency appointments and delayed invoices due to insurance coverage, etc. This reserve allowed us to cover appointments for grant participants in 2024 that were identified by their therapist as being high-risk until August 2024. A voluntary survey will be administered at the end of 2024 in collaboration with the University of Utah, who will be hosting a focus group of clinicians and participants of the AgWellness Mental Health Assistance Grant. The AgWellness team also hosted AgWellness Appreciation Nights for producers and their families throughout the state, providing them with a catered meal, time with their loved ones, and links to self-care and mental health resources. There were over 219 attendees with representation from Uintah, Duchesne, Daggett, Millard, Sanpete, Sevier, Piute, Wayne, San Juan, Grand, Emery, Carbon, and Rich Counties.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience that has been our main focus during this reporting period has been farm and ranch families in rural parts of Utah. Our main focus is to help provide them with Mental Health resources that make sense, are easily obtainable, and that are adaptable to their location of living. Changes/Problems:I would note that one of the original challenges was trying to figure out the best way to spread the word about the amazing offerings of the grant program. It started out slow when we rolled it out, however, thanks to great marketing and word of mouth, things have picked up significantly and the program's impacts are growing exponentially. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?1- 384 individuals reached during this reporting period by the "The Biggest Asset is You" presentation 2- More than $123,052.44 has been spent on therapy appointments (translates to over 781 appointments). Nine clients have used the full amount, and 24 clients are more than halfway through (spent over $1,000). Over 191 farmers have used a voucher 3- Mental Health Assistance page has 2,043 views, the Healthcare provider page has 209 views, and the Contact page has 160 views 4- ASAP Story videos had 34.2k total views, and reached 96.6K people 5- 11 published podcast episodes, 490 plans and 45 subscribers 6- Conversations with more than 122 farmers/producers (since call log was started in June 23) to connect them to immediate mental health support, scheduling appts with therapists for them, and educational conversations about mental health. 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?UDAF and USU plan to continue outreach efforts to target those individuals that may benefit from the services offered. Presentations are continuing at various meetings/conventions/trainings to present the program to community leaders as well as individuals that may benefit. Additional outreach will be conducted throughout the coming months through other community activities and sponsored events.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
1- Presentation Numbers, Survey Results, etc. 2- Voucher impacts 3- Social Media/Website impacts 4- Video impacts 5- Podcast Impacts 6- Quotes from Presentations, Voucher Contact, etc.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:
Nothing Reported
Changes/Problems:USU has struggled with othere responsibilities taking priority. UDAF plans to have regular strategic planning meetings with USU to continuously monitor progresss. If substantial progress is not made in the next 3 months, UDAF will look to other options for service delivery. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
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?UDAF plans to work more closely with USU to continue developiong strategies and programs to deliver services to the customer. Contact has been made with Intermountain Health Care, a major medical provider in the Intermountain area, to develop a mental health/voucher program to allow the project to cover the expenses of mental health issues for the targeted population. Training for financial planning is also in progress. The goal is to have these in place in the very short term to be able to provide services.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
USU Extension delivered a statewide needs assessment specific to Farm and Ranch Mental Health and Suicide in 2021. We assessed our previous data and adjusted our needs assessment to focus on delivery methods and to reach our target audience. In spring 2022, we relaunched this needs assessment to reach more of our demographic and worked with UDAF to send it to all their contacts. Based on the needs assessment results, we have created, reviewed, and published streamlined Mental Health and Suicide Prevention training specific for Farmers and Ranchers. All team members will be involved in the creation of the training. Specifically, Josh Dallin, Callie Ward, and Jake Hadfield will enhance specific farm and ranch examples and resources and will connect these examples and resources to professional mental health and suicide-related materials. In addition to Mental Health resources, this team is working on basic farm finance and economics class that will be available for individuals, couples, and families to help mitigate some of the stain farmers and ranchers are feeling that may cause unneeded stress. We are currently compiling adequate and realistic Mental Health and Suicide resources available to rural Utah communities. House them on the landing webpage. Agwellness.usu.edu. Many resources exist, but few can help farmers and ranchers in need. The team has identified Intermountain Health Care (IHC) as a partner to provide care for individuals needing help. IHC has reliable resources in Utah's rural counties and will be administering individuals' intake and health care. IHC and USU Extension have set a deadline of November 1, 2022, for an operational intake and voucher program. We have identified several ideas for a Marketing Campaign and will continue working directly with UDAF based on survey results. We will meet in September to go over final ideas and launch dates.
Publications
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