Substance use disorders in the farming population: Scoping review

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this scoping review is to summarize the current knowledge base in order to make recommendations for prevention and treatment of substance use disorders among the farming populations. Methods We conducted a scoping review of peer‐reviewed articles published between January 1989 and September 2019. The search yielded 3,426 citations and the final review was conducted on 42 articles. The full review was conducted by 4 authors to extract information about the target population, data collection methods, and main results. Findings There were 21 articles on farmers and 21 articles on farmworkers. The majority of the articles were about alcohol. Overall, farmers had higher prevalence of risky alcohol consumption patterns than nonfarmers. The prevalence of risky alcohol consumption was also high among farmworkers compared to the general population. Risk factors for risky alcohol consumption included male gender, lower socioeconomic status, and psychological problems (eg, depression). Recommendations for prevention and intervention of alcohol disorders included policy development and implementation to curb alcohol access by taxation, screening of alcohol‐related problems, and alternative means of recreation instead of alcohol consumption. Conclusions This review confirmed that alcohol‐related problems are prevalent among farmers and farmworkers. More population‐based research is called for to understand the additional risk factors of alcohol disorders and the prevalence of other substance‐related disorders. Also, interventions should be tailored to the unique culture of farmers and farmworkers.

“It’s easier to go to the beer store than ask for help”: A qualitative exploration of barriers to health care in rural farming communities.

“…The research team traveled to 12 farms to conduct 13 of the interviews in-person and two of the interviews were conducted online. The interview script was based on a recently conducted literature review highlighting gaps in data collection and was developed with faculty and staff familiar with research in the field (Watanabe- Galloway et al, 2022). The interviews followed a script to collect data and procedures were identical to decrease interview bias.…”

Maternal and paternal employment in agriculture and early childhood development: A cross-sectional analysis of Demographic and Health Survey data

“…Future studies should examine other country-level characteristics that may moderate the associations we examined. Future work should also consider additional factors like parental use of alcohol, tobacco, and nicotine-containing products, which is prevalent in LMICs [70] and in farming populations [71], and associated with child development, particularly with poor emotional development and behavioural difficulties [72][73][74]. More evidence is needed on if, and how, parental substance use influences the relationship between parental occupation and child development in LLMICs.…”

Disordered alcohol and substance use in Irish farmers: A cross‐sectional survey

“…In Ireland, as in much of Europe, this pressure is borne by a shrinking population of farmers, most of them older men, working on a declining number of farms 8,9 . As a result of these pressures, some farming populations have a higher prevalence of mental health issues, 10–12 and some populations of farmers drink heavily 13,14 . However, alcohol use varies dramatically across different populations, and there is little research on farmers’ use of substances beyond alcohol 14 .…”

“…As farmers’ alcohol use varies across cultures, and there is very little research on farmers’ substance use, further cross‐sectional work is necessary to examine risk factors for farmers’ alcohol and substance use in different populations 14 . To our knowledge, most research on Irish farmers’ alcohol and substance use focuses on consumption alone.…”