Canada/ More support for local farmers

A pilot project has just been launched in the region to facilitate the care of agricultural producers in need of psychosocial follow-up.

It has two components: raising awareness of agricultural realities within the healthcare network, and creating a service corridor to refer this clientele directly to programs and services that meet their needs. The ultimate goal is to adapt interventions to the agricultural reality. The project, called "Approche et références pour les producteurs agricoles et leur milieu" (ARPAM), is being deployed by the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de la Mauricie-et-du-Centre-du-Québec (CIUSSS MCQ), in collaboration with the organization Au cœur des familles agricoles (ACFA), which has been providing psychosocial services to farmers for 21 years through a team of farm workers.

There are two dedicated workers: Marie-Ève Durand for the Centre-du-Québec region and Kim Rémillard for the Mauricie region. They are the link between CIUSSS MCQ services and the region's farming community, which includes some 3,200 farm businesses in Centre-du-Québec and 965 in Mauricie. They began their mandate last November. Since then, they have met with farmers and raised awareness among some 700 CIUSSS MCQ stakeholders.

"We have 20,000 CIUSSS employees to make aware of the reality of farming. They're very receptive. They say they're empathetic to the reality of farmers, and they're committed to adapting their professional practice to help them more," says Kim Rémillard, who is delighted with the great collective mobilization that is taking place to ensure the psychological well-being and health of this clientele. The needs are great. According to a recent study, no less than 58% of farmers suffer from anxiety symptoms, while 35% suffer from depression.

In the region, ACFA rangers carried out over 750 interventions in 2022. Family conflicts linked to the professional sphere, stress and anxiety, relationship problems and work overload are among the main reasons for consultation. "92% of agricultural producers would like the person to whom they refer their health or psychological problem to have a knowledge of farming reality. This fosters a bond of trust," says Marie-Ève Durand.

This statistic underscores the importance of the awareness-raising approach. "This approach] will enable us to offer intervention tools adapted to their reality. For example, a 30-day work stoppage is not applicable to a farmer. What solutions might be appropriate for him, depending on his situation? She gives another example: "Under the current rules, if someone fails to show up three times for a scheduled meeting, their service is cancelled. But is there any way of rethinking this clinically? Because if the person doesn't show up, it may be because their agricultural reality means they have to make hay, because there are harvests to be harvested, because they're in a hurry to get back to work.If the person doesn't show up, it may be because their farming reality means they have to make hay, because there are harvests to be harvested, because the weather means they have to go out into the fields now...".

The approach also aims to facilitate the process of accessing services, notably by enabling row workers to make direct referrals. As a result, farmers no longer need to call 811 or the psychosocial reception desk to have a case opened. "Often, when a farmer calls, he's not comfortable saying everything. So, often, he won't be prioritized because he'll minimize certain things," points out Ms. Durand.

By being referred by his caseworker, his access to appropriate services is facilitated. The process is currently under development. "We want to produce documents that they [the line workers] can fill in and send to stakeholders. For the moment, we're still calling the teams to let them know they'll be receiving a referral. We act as a bridge," concludes Ms. Durand.

The progress of this pilot project - a first in Quebec - will be followed with interest by other CISSSs and CIUSSSs in Quebec, as the formula could eventually be deployed everywhere.

Source: www.lanouvelle.net/