CE Module: Risk for Depressive Symptoms and Suicide Among U.S. Primary Farmers and Family Members: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

This issue of Workplace Health & Safety contains a Continuing Nursing Education Module for 1.0 contact hour of continuing nursing education credit will be awarded by AAOHN upon successful completion of the posttest and evaluation.

A certificate will be awarded when the following requirements are met by the participant: (1) Participant logs on to the AAOHN LMS website at www.aaohn.org/education/online-learning-center and enrolls in the course ($10 members; $15 non-members); (2) The completed posttest and course evaluation are entered online at http://www.aaohn.org by May 2022; (3) A score of 75% (6 correct answers) is achieved by the participant.

Upon completion of this lesson, the occupational health nurse will be able to:

Describe the risk factors for depression and suicide in primary farmers and family members.

Identify those primary farmers at risk for depression and/or suicide.

The American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, Inc. is an Approved Provider of continuing nursing education by the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, Inc., an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. The American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, Inc. is additionally approved as a CNE provider by the California Board of Registered Nursing (#CEP9283).

Contact hours received for successful completion of the posttest and evaluation may be used for relicensure, certification, and re-certification.

The purpose of this article is to:

Explain why U.S. farmers are more susceptible to depression than European farmers

Examine the scientific literature related to depressive symptoms, depression and suicide among primary farmers and their families

Examine the literature related to the incidence of depression in farmers and their spouses

Explain why people in the general population are more susceptible to suicide than farmers

The methodology used in this article for the literature review process is:

PRISMA

PubMed

Google Scholar

AGRICOLA

Of the thirty studies used in this literature review, the most commonly used depression scale is:

Medical Outcomes Study Questionnaire – Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36)

12-item General Health Questionnaire

Centers for Disease Control Epidemiologic Studies – Depression Scale (CES-D)

Beck Depression Inventory

This literature review supported the findings found in the general public, in that women were more likely to report being depressed than men.

True

False

The leading indicators for depression in U.S. primary farmers and family members include:

Obesity, safety issues, and stress

Increased stress, compromised financial position, and previous injury

Marital status, large families, and stress

Dairy farming, climate, and trade upheavals

The most commonly used study design in the 30 studies in this literature review were:

Longitudinal design

Case-control design

Cross-sectional data design

Retrospective review articles design

The authors of the literature review found:

Too many studies regarding depression in primary farmers and family members

That most of the studies in the review focused on women rather than men

Lack of attention to factors leading to depression and suicide in primary farmers and family members

The same depression scale used in all 30 studies

It is important for Occupational Health Nurses (OHNs) to be aware of depressive symptoms in primary farmers and family members:

So the OHN can screen for depressive symptoms in this population

So the OHN can refer to a psychiatrist immediately on meeting the primary farmers.

So the OHN can immediately notify Human Resources (HR) of the risk of suicide among this population, especially if they carry a second job

To offer divorce counseling to spouses of farmers.