“We All Have a Job to Do in This World, It’s up to Us”: Farmworker and Farmer Mental Health in a Rural US-Mexico Border Region

ABSTRACT

Improving mental health outcomes for agricultural populations is dependent on understanding the unique farming related stressors in context of the local culture and community. This study was designed to assess the prevalence of stressors and mental health risks among farmers and farmworkers in a rural, medically underserved US-Mexico border region. Of 135 study respondents, 55.6% (n = 18) farmers had clinical depression symptomatology based on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies depression screening scale (CES-D) and 40.2% (n = 117) farmworkers had stress levels that pose significant mental health risks based on the Migrant Farmworker Stress Inventory. Farmworker females were 2.3 times more likely to have a score of clinical concern. Results provide an understanding of the distinct sources of stress for both farmers and farmworkers and the mental health challenges across the industry. With an understanding that suicide is the third leading cause of injury death in Imperial County and depression associated with an increased risk of suicidality, the agricultural workforce in Imperial County is particularly vulnerable. Local farm organizations, employers, and community organizations can help increase mental health access, acceptability, and availability to achieve greater safety and health in the region’s largest workforce.

KEYWORDS:

• Occupational stress
• mental health
• farmers
• Hispanic/Latino farmworkers
• US-Mexico border

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Western Center for Agriculture Health and Safety (WCAHS) under CDC/NIOSH Cooperative Agreement [U54OH007550] and the HighPlains Intermountain Center for Agriculture Health and Safety (HICAHS) under CDC/NIOSH Cooperative Agreement [U54OH008085]. This content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of CDC/NIOSH, WCAHS, or HICAHS.