A Pilot Study of the Impact of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy on the Futures of Rural Youth and Canadian Farming

Abstract

There is an abundance of literature examining the economic impact of Canada's bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) outbreak, but few studies examined the impact of such a crisis on health at the individual, family, or community levels. In particular, rural youth represent an underresearched population despite being at risk for a unique set of social and health concerns. In this pilot study, our objectives were to explore how rural youth responded to Canada's BSE crisis and how they perceived themselves, their families, and their communities to have been impacted. Seven youths (n = 7), recruited from within a university setting using a snowball sampling method, were interviewed. They represent a segment of rural, agriculturally based youth who are resilient due to good parental support. Although they reported high stress in their families during the immediate crisis in 2003, they did not report lasting high levels of stress or negative health effects due to BSE. They did report a decline in rural community health, identifying a reduction in community activities and in the participation of families in community activities. Participants identified elements that discourage youth from pursuing farming as a career and expressed concern for the future of family farming. The results are discussed in terms of the ability of agriculturally based youth to make the transition to adulthood. The implications have importance for future research and policy that addresses the structural supports for choice making, the long-term success for rural youth in transitioning to adult status, and the future of agriculture.

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge and thank the study participants, Kathy Dirk for assistance with editing and manuscript preparation, and the Bachelor of Health Sciences Program at the University of Calgary for support of Trevor Cook. We also thank the anonymous reviewers who pointed us in the direction of transition theory as an explanation for youth experience. This study was supported by a larger project funded through grants from PrioNet Canada, the Alberta Prion Research Institute, and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and the Vice-President for Research, University of Calgary.

Notes

¹ The term farms is used to refer to all agricultural production settings in rural areas.