Refining Practice Standards Targeting Mental Health Disorders in Agricultural Settings

Abstract

Agriculture, including farming, fishing, and logging, is one of North Carolina's major industries. Workers in North Carolina's agriculture setting are facing increasing stressors that can contribute to a mental health crisis. Ensuring that agriculture workers struggling with mental health receive adequate and appropriate assistance begins with effective screening and detection. A quality improvement project was created to refine an original Farm Stress Screener to increase participation and improve follow-up communication. Recruitment for participation in the screening process occurred virtually and in person with alternative access to the registration process through scanning a QR code or navigating to a specific link. Personal information was collected during registration to ensure adequate follow-up communication. Participants received weekly mental health screenings. Positive screenings required follow-up communication to determine the proper resources for each case. The revised enrollment process eliminated follow-up communication issues from the previous Farm Stress Screener; however, overall enrollment decreased in comparison to the earlier version.